Shifting Superpower Country Status

Will China be the next global superpower? Is the US just okay with that? News reports say that Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy are joining the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is a rival to the US-led World Bank in DC. It caused me to remember CPA Senior Economist Greg Autry’s presentation in…

More than 100 legal scholars call on Congress, administration to protect democracy and sovereignty in U.S. trade deals

More than 100 law professors have signed a letter to congressional leaders and the U.S. Trade Representative urging them to “protect the rule of law and the nation’s sovereignty” as trade agreements are negotiated.  Specifically, the professors oppose the inclusion of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions in these agreements.  The letter was released by Alliance for…

Testimony of Patrick A. Mulloy: “Across the Pond: U.S. Opportunities and Challenges in the Asia Pacific”

Testimony of Patrick A. Mulloy, Trade Lawyer, Before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the PacificHearing Entitled“Across the Pond:  U.S. Opportunities and Challenges in the Asia Pacific”February 26, 2015 Chairman Salmon, Ranking Member Sherman, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for providing me with this opportunity to speak to you…

Forbes: China Used More Concrete In 3 Years Than The U.S. Used In The Entire 20th Century [Infographic]

China produces and consumes about 60 percent of the world’s cement — the Three Gorges Dam alone required 16 million tonnes of it. To put China’s massive 21st century construction splurge and concrete consumption into perspective, Bill Gates made a mind-blowing comparison. According to his blog, between 2011 and 2013, China consumed 6.6 gigatons of…

Marketwatch: Krugman opposes Pacific Rim trade deal

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Nobel laureate Paul Krugman came out against the Pacific Rim trade deal, calling it “fundamentally trivial“ for the U.S. trade sector. “Pushing this [trade deal] has nothing to do with the interest of a vast majority of Americans,” Krugman, the Princeton University economist and New York Times columnist, said Tuesday in a…