Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on the Department of Labor’s Colombia FTA Report

I am pleased that the report released today by the Department of Labor in response to our submission on Colombia’s Free Trade Agreement found significant evidence of inadequate labor inspection and enforcement, abusive subcontracting, failure to prosecute threats and violence against unionists and other failures.  While the report is an important first step towards ensuring…

Sen. Mike Lee Wants To Stop Trump on Trade

Don’t expect lawmakers to quietly accept President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to use congressionally granted authorities to hike tariffs against offending countries, which could potentially spark trade wars. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is already leading an effort to find ways to rein in some of the executive power Trump would have on trade. [Adam Behsudi| January…

CPA Interview: Bay Bridge “Dangerous” Due to Chinese Steel

“Inept, Inexperienced” Steelmaker Delivered Structure With Cracks & Defects From 2006 to 2013, California’s state transportation agency Caltrans rebuilt the Bay Bridge, California’s second most famous bridge, which connects San Francisco to the Oakland-Berkeley area across San Francisco Bay.  The rebuilding project attracted enormous controversy, due to delays, numerous flaws and defects found in the…

Why Fixing Trade Deficits Is Essential

In 1965, when we imported less, manufacturing employed 24% of the U.S. workforce. By 2015, substantial portions of our manufacturing base had moved overseas, and domestic manufacturing had shrunk to just 9% of employment. [Frank Berlage| January 7, 2017 |Barrons] The U.S. has now run a trade deficit for 40 years, and at present levels…

What to look for from CPA this year

by Michael Stumo With the election behind us and the new administration in front of us, what can you expect from CPA and its bipartisan membership this year? The short answer is that we will consolidate our trade wins and shoot for more. The Trans-Pacific Partnership is dead, so our campaign to kill it ended…

The Ivory Tower is Crumbling on Trade Theory

by Michael Stumo The American Economics Association is fretting the fact that their economic theories are no longer trusted. University education material is starting to include criticisms of and alternatives to old trade theory that is impervious to acknowledgement of glaring and persistent failures. On the second point, I just had a long interview with…