WASHINGTON—An uncomfortable question looms over the tax debate in Congress: What’s Plan B? [Richard Rubin| February 17, 2017 |Wall Street Journal] Border adjustment, a pillar of House Republicans’ tax proposal, is taking a beating. Big retailers are lobbying aggressively against the concept, which would tax imports and exempt exports. Senate Republicans have expressed views ranging from skepticism…
A waiver needed for U.S. trade representative nominee Robert Lighthizer to be confirmed for the role could be delayed as Democrats gear up for a fight to get the Miners Protection Act passed — an effort that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) believes has no chance of success. [Daily News| February 16, 2017…
Donald Trump has a reputation for doing as president what he said he’d do when he was a candidate, but there’s one promise he has conspicuously dropped. [Evelyn Cheng| February 15, 2017 |CNBC] Trump during the campaign called China “the single greatest currency manipulator that’s ever been on this planet,” and said he would make labeling China a…
The 2016 election was a referendum on the imbalanced global trading system. It lost. President Donald Trump’s victory and Bernie Sanders’ insurgency both drew urgency and energy from the millions of livelihoods our trade deficits have cost. [Howard Richman, Raymond Richman, and Jesse Richman| February 10, 2017 |American Thinker] The vast U.S. trade deficit siphons…
Sometimes the victories come so thick and fast, you have to sit down, take a deep breath, and count them. by Jeff Ferry, appears on The Hill And sometimes your victories come wrapped in so many layers of pious self-justifying twaddle that you don’t even recognize them. In the past few weeks, those of us who believe…
Emboldened by Trump’s pledge to “buy American,” cattle ranchers across the country are trying to re-stoke the fires around country-of-origin labeling, lobbying for state legislation to take the place of defeated federal rules, reports Brent Griffiths for Pro Agriculture. The latest legislative effort is South Dakota Senate Bill 135 , a measure supported by the state’s Stockgrowers…
MEXICO CITY—While the Trump administration talks of new import tariffs, there is already one in place that would slam manufacturers of pickup trucks in Mexico if the U.S. scuttles the North American Free Trade Agreement. [ROBBIE WHELAN| February 15, 2017 |Wall Street Journal] Under the so-called Chicken Tax first imposed more than a half-century ago, the U.S.…
Passionate defenders of the “global rules-based trading system” should be wary of thinking their views are more informed than President Trump’s. He has been branded a protectionist and thus many conclude he is incapable of exercising world leadership. Meanwhile, those who embrace the virtues of global free trade disregard the fact that the “rules” are…
WASHINGTON—The White House is exploring a new tactic to discourage China from undervaluing its currency to boost exports, part of an evolving Trump administration strategy to challenge the practices of the U.S.’s largest trading partner while stepping back from direct confrontation. [Bob Davis| February 13, 2017 |Wall Street Journal] Under the plan, the commerce secretary…
DETROIT — There are many reasons for the steady success of the three major American automakers in recent years, but none are bigger than the surging sales of full-size pickup trucks. [Bill Vlasic| February 13, 2017 |New York Times] General Motors, Ford Motor and Fiat Chrysler dominate the segment in the United States market, and they rely…
