This culminated last week. But the war — between Peter Navarro’s economic nationalist camp and Gary Cohn’s free trader-cohort — has been roiling the White House for months. [Jonathan Swan | March 4, 2018 | Axios] It came to a head in the Oval Office in January of this year, when Cohn, Navarro, Rob Porter, Wilbur…
A possible merger of two giant makers of computer chips could revolutionize the all-important industry — which touches everything from smartphones to cars — and shift the balance of power from California to Asia. [ALAN RAPPEPORT, CECILIA KANG and CHAD BRAY | MARCH 5, 2018 | NY Times] Washington isn’t so sure that is a good idea. In a rare…
If you ask the CEO of Nucor, the largest steel producer in the United States, he’ll tell you that President Donald Trump’s plans to put tariffs on steel and aluminum imports are fair game. [Elizabeth Gurdus | March 5, 2018 | CNBC] In a Monday interview on “Mad Money,” Nucor CEO John Ferriola pushed back against arguments that the tariffs…
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Research Director The productivity figures for the US economy in 2017, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) last month, show the US economy continuing to underperform on productivity growth, one of the most important metrics for the long-term health of the economy. The labor productivity of our non-farm business…
MEXICO CITY – Negotiators have made progress on automotive rules of origin, state-to-state dispute settlement and a review mechanism during the seventh round of North American Free Trade Agreement talks here, though the U.S. continues to refuse to back down from some of its more controversial proposals, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. [ Brett…
Last week President Trump announced new tariffs on steel and aluminum products, and the response couldn’t have been more negative — critics warned of trade wars, recession, global instability. But the blowback is overblown, and seems to constitute reflexive anti-Trump sentiment rather than careful economic reasoning. [Josh Bivens | March 5, 2018 | NY Times]…
Yesterday, President Donald Trump said that he has decided to impose tariffs of 25% on all steel imports and 10% on aluminum imports, promising to sign the measures next week. Trade remedies for steel and aluminum are long overdue. [Robert E. Scott | March 2, 2018 | Marketwatch] Trump promised quick action after announcing investigations of the national-security…
North American Free Trade Agreement negotiators did not make the progress that “many had hoped” would be made in the seventh round of talks, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Monday, warning that the three countries were running out of time. [ Dan Dupont | March 5, 2018 | Inside US Trade] Crediting negotiators for…
As the recent Winter Olympics reminds us, cheating is absolutely unacceptable in the international arena. A policy of “zero tolerance” is enforced, and any athletes taking performance-enhancing drugs are immediately disqualified. Op-ed By Michael Stumo Originally Appeared on The Hill Unfortunately, such scrutiny doesn’t always extend to the world of international trade, with countries like…
A day after facing widespread heat for his announcement of impending tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which critics abroad and at home say will lead to a wave of retaliation, President Trump used his Twitter feed to declare that trade wars are good – and “easy to win.” [March 2, 2018 | Inside US…