Despite all the much-heralded talk of the rebirth of manufacturing, a new report suggests that the trend may be vastly overstated [Reposted from The Guardian | Suzanne McGee | January 12, 1015] Have we been letting a good story get in the way of the facts? The “manufacturing renaissance” has been the central point in…
The “manufacturing renaissance” narrative in some circles is simply untrue. And possibly harmful to smart policy going forward. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) just produced a report saying as much. The full report is here. A summary is below. The Myth of America’s Manufacturing Renaissance: The Real State of U.S. Manufacturing JANUARY…
WASHINGTON — New Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pledged Wednesday to move full speed ahead to give President Barack Obama so-called fast track authority to cut massive new trade deals with little oversight. [Reposted from the Huffington Post | Michael McAuliff | January 7, 2015] The last grant of fast track authority, formally known…
WASHINGTON — President Obama is facing opposition from fellow Democrats to one of his top priorities: winning the power to negotiate international trade agreements and speed them through Congress. [Reposted from The New York Times | Julie Hirsch | January 8, 2015] As Mr. Obama’s team works privately to line up support for the so-called…
China retains an active value-added tax (“VAT”) rebate program for exports. [Reposted from Textiles and Trade | David Trumbull | January 6, 2015] China’s Ministry of Finance increased the VAT rebate for most textile and apparel products to 16 percent in 2009 effective April 1, 2009. According to a news account in World Textile Information…
I’m glad to see mainstream newspaper reporters accurately report that the trade deficit is a drag on growth. While the November trade deficit was narrower, the reason was energy. Crude oil imports dropped because we produce more of our own energy. And because the price of crude was lower. Not because our goods deficit…
More wrong-headed rhetoric on trade deals to nowhere! [From the blog of Dan DiMicco | Dan DiMicoo | January 8, 2015] Every past deal has been a failure as we are terrible negotiators and even worse enforcers of the penalties for cheating and circumvention by the other signers. They use non-tariff barriers to replace their…
Republicans will go after “weak-kneed” Democrats to back the trade deal, DeFazio said. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo) President Barack Obama wants Congress to pass legislation that would give him the authority to negotiate a long-sought trade agreement with nearly a dozen countries in the Pacific region. [Reposted from Roll Call | Emma Dumain …
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) on Thursday said Democrats aren’t opposed to trade, but want to make sure any deals negotiated by the administration help U.S. workers. [Reposted from The Hill | Vicki Needham | January 8, 2015] Pelosi and House Democrats are seen as a significant obstacle to the White House’s hopes of…
Failed dreams and broken promises are all that remain of the hope that led the United States to open free trade with China in 2001. [Reposted from the Epoch Times | Joshua Phillips | January 1, 2015] President Bill Clinton had told a crowded room a year prior that “if you believe in a future…