Larry Summers has always promoted the free-trade agreements, but not anymore. His analysis below is far better than his prior position. This article indicates how we are, as Americans, at a point where we are questioning the trade policies of the past and looking for a new direction. It is the new mainstream view, and…

Of the 46 incoming GOP freshmen House members, twenty refused to sign a letter supporting more executive authority sought by Obama for Fast Track trade authority. [Reposted from the End Global Governance blog  |  March 11, 2015] Freshmen Reps. Tom Emmer (R-MN-06) and Mimi Walters (R-CA-45) tried, but failed, to get most of the incoming…

It was exciting to be in Washington, D. C. last week for the annual Coalition for a Prosperous America’s legislative fly-in for the third time. I arrived on the “red eye” flight from San Diego early Tuesday morning and was at the Capitol for my team’s first appointment while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was…

Waikaloa, HAWAII — Australia’s chief negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations said ahead of an informal round kicking off here Monday (March 9) that nine out of the agreement’s 30 chapters have been closed, and that most of the other chapters are nearing conclusion. [Reposted from Inside US Trade  |  March 9, 2015] The…

The following letter was sent to Rep. Richard Neal (MA01) by the Great Barrington Democratic Town Committee, a local democratic party committee in his district, in opposition to Fast Track.  Great Barrington Democratic Town Committee March 9, 2015 Congressman Richard Neal341 Cannon House Office BuildingWashington, DC 20515 Dear Congressman Neal: The Great Barrington Democratic Town…

Progressives believe that fair trade agreements are possible – but not if the administration follows the old model for negotiations [Reposted from The Guardian  | Raúl M Grijalva and Keith Ellison  |  March 9, 2015] The United States is currently negotiating with eleven other nations to finalize the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – one of the…

The United States had a goods and services trade deficit of approximately $463.5 billion in 2013, which cost millions of U.S. jobs. Contrary to the well agreed-upon fact that trade deficits lead to job loss, the Business Roundtable (BRT) has sponsored a study which claims to show that U.S. goods and services trade (both imports…

A third of the finished steel products bought in the United States so far this year were made overseas, and domestic steelmakers are ailing. [Reposted from NWI.com  |  Joseph S. Pete  |  March 10, 2015] Finished steel imports seized 33 percent of the market share last month, and have captured a full third of the…

(Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF USA, sits on the Board of the Coalition for a Prosperous America.) R-CALF USA Helps Promote COOL to White House Domestic Policy Council  Washington, D.C. – In a meeting today with White House Domestic Policy Council staff, R-CALF USA and other farm and consumer groups urged that President Obama direct…

Let’s begin with some basics: Trade deficits must be financed. A country simply cannot have a trade deficit unless private or government investors are willing to finance it. This is not simply an accounting convention – it is real debt. [Reposted from Forbes  |  Mike Collins  |  January  15, 2015] Normally trade deficits are self…