Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on Saturday doubled down on the imposition of tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber, saying they were not based on “political considerations” and that “threats of retaliatory action” are “inappropriate.” [REBECCA MORIN] May 6th, 2017 [Politico] “The Department of Commerce’s recent preliminary decision to impose tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber was…
Wage contracts are inked years before plants open and workers never get a say. At a ceremony at Mexico’s Los Pinos presidential residence in July 2014, BMW Chief Executive Officer Harald Krüger pledged to spend $1 billion to build a factory in the northern state of San Luis Potosí that will employ 1,500 workers. To…
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) likely will not allow the Senate to consider the nomination of U.S. Trade Representative nominee Robert Lighthizer until the week of May 15 because of objections he is facing from his caucus to a request to move the nomination through unanimous consent, sources told Inside U.S. Trade. [Jenny Leonard] May…
We often hear of state and federal officials chasing after foreign investment dollars, trying to bring money into the United States. May 4th, 2017 | Written by Jeff Ferry, Global Trade Magazine Recently a dozen CEO’s of foreign companies met with the Trump administration to make the case that foreign investment is an unabashed good for America. Only…
A strong historic defense of American workers and domestic manufacturers aptly summarizes the first 100 days of the Trump Administration’s trade policy. [Peter Navarro] May 2nd, 2017 [CNN] On his first working day in office, President Trump terminated one of the worst trade deals ever proposed: the Trans-Pacific Partnership. TPP would have further eroded the…
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, who last week played a role in convincing President Trump not to withdraw from NAFTA, said the threat of doing so sent a “strong signal” to Canada and Mexico — as well as to Congress. May 2nd, 2017 [Inside U.S. Trade] In an interview with AgriPulse this week, Perdue recounted an Oval Office…
The Commerce Department reported the deficit on international trade goods and services in March was about $43.7 billion, indicating the United States is on track to another trade gap in excess of $500 billion for 2017. [Peter Morici] May 4th, 2017 [economist and business professor at the University of Maryland, and a national columnist] For decades,…
The president’s favorite numbers guy, Peter Navarro, says buying from China strengthens a potential enemy. [Peter Coy] May 2nd, 2017 [Bloomberg Business Week] As he stepped onto the stage at the annual meeting of the National Association for Business Economics, Peter Navarro knew he was facing a tough crowd—or what passes for one in the…
The media was aghast last week that some Trump administration drafted a proposal to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as well as a proposal to renegotiate it. Later reports said the White House was not going to advance the proposal to end NAFTA, after powerful business interests called in to object.…
Administration officials are divided over a draft executive order to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement and butting heads on whether to issue a notification to withdraw at the same time the White House formally notifies Congress of its intent to renegotiate the deal, multiple sources tell Inside U.S. Trade. [Jack Caporal & Jenny Leonard]…