By Kenneth Rapoza, Industry Analyst, CPA Washing machine prices rose in 2018 and we are all reminded that tariffs are to blame. But they’ve been coming down ever since, inflation data shows. When President Trump put 20 percent tariffs on imported washing machines in 2018, there were howls of anguish from free-trade economists. They attacked…
By Ken Rapoza, CPA Industry Analyst Major pharmaceutical importers have pushed back against the White House’s proposal to support domestic labs. But on Thursday, American manufacturers got a break. We think there is more to come. If there really is a “new normal” spawned by the global coronavirus pandemic, it’s the localizing of critical supply…
By Ken Rapoza, CPA Industry Analyst The pandemic has curtailed exports and imports and today’s trade numbers showed a slight decline in the trade deficit. The June deficit came in at $50.7 billion, 7.5 percent better than the $54.8 billion deficit in May, based on the Bureau of Economic Analysis data. From January to June,…
By Kenneth Rapoza The Senate Subcommittee on Security held a hearing on China this week. This is what we learned. Ladies and gentlemen, we have consensus. Senate Republicans and Democrats on the Subcommittee on Security’s China Challenge hearing chaired by Dan Sullivan (R-AK) all agreed on Thursday that the threat posed by the world’s No.…
By CPA Staff The Senate takes a stab at reforming the World Trade Organization. But is it even fixable anymore? Yesterday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing on reforming the World Trade Organization showed that leaving the beleaguered institution is not top of mind with them. Everyone seems keen on fixing what’s fixable, with significant doubts among…
by Kenneth Rapoza, CPA Industry Analyst A recent Ways & Means Committee meeting shows Congress is not on the same page with the post-pandemic reshoring of critical supply chains. Relying on allies is too kumbaya for us. The US Congress can only influence, and truly depend, on one supply chain—our own. One of the biggest…
By Kenneth Rapoza, CPA Industry Analyst It makes no sense to allow China airport passenger bridge maker CIMC Tianda to benefit from Federal grants. They get them already from Beijing. Congress took an important step in halting the flow of taxpayer money to Chinese jet bridge manufacturers recently. They figured out that it’s unwise to…
Editor’s Note: An article from Palladium magazine by Marc Fasteau and Ian Fletcher, read by the latter on the following podcasts. America’s resurgent interest in industrial policy will go nowhere without rigorous economic foundations. Anchor Pocket Casts Radio Public Spotify
Editor’s Note: George Boyd Jr. is the vice president of Goldens’ Foundry and Machine Company and a CPA member. They’re sold out everywhere. How complicated could it be to just make some more? Turns out, very. [ Alex Shultz | April 7, 2020 | GQ] It didn’t happen exactly this way, but it feels like it did:…
Editors note: Michele Nash-Hoff explains why we need an industrial strategy focusing on getting manufacturing back. So the 40 million unemployed have a chance it getting better jobs than the ones they left. Continuing my series on why manufacturing is important to America, the second reason is that wages and benefits for manufacturing jobs are approximately…
