One of the truly dumbest arguments I hear in favor of free trade is that national borders are “arbitrary.” [Ian Fletcher| April 4, 2016 |Huffington Post] I usually get this from right-wing libertarian types, but occasionally from “one world” leftists, too. But it’s not true. For a start, calling national borders “arbitrary” is simply irrelevant,…
“The reason why Obamatrade became law is because of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX),” said Donald Trump’s senior policy advisor Stephen Miller on Monday’s program of Breitbart News Daily. [Julia Hahn| March 29, 2016 |Breitbart] Miller — who had been working for Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)at the time that Sessions led the conservative opposition to Obamatrade in…
The intense anti-trade sentiment of the presidential campaign is putting in doubt the congressional approval of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), according to two private-sector lobbyists backing the deal. [Daily News| March 31, 2016 |Inside US Trade] Myron Brilliant, Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said on…
Never have I seen a political issue so susceptible to sophistry – in the original sense of that term connoting tricky conceptual sleight-of-hand – as trade economics. [Ian Fletcher| March 29, 2016 |Huffington Post] Never have I seen a political issue so susceptible to sophistry – in the original sense of that term connoting tricky…
Manufacturing was the economic growth engine of United States. It helped to create the high paying jobs, improved living standards, national wealth, military might, and tax revenues. Unfortunately, there has been a dramatic decline in the above scenario for the United States in the 21st century. The U.S is rapidly turning into non-Super Power second rate country.…
The high-profile presidential primary revolt against decades of damaging American trade policy finally has forced the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) into mainstream media coverage. [Lori Wallach| March 24, 2016 |Huffington Post] The usual free-trade-agreement cheerleading squad of chronic-job-offshoring corporations, Wall Street, agribusiness and their coterie of think tanks and pundits are unnerved. After spending billions in…
Residents of Washington state recognize the difference between a good trade policy and a bad trade policy. A bad trade policy is still bad, even if you call it “free trade,” “nuanced trade” or “utilitarian.” [Stan Sorscher| March 23, 2016 |Seattle Times] The Trans-Pacific Partnership is neither free, nuanced nor utilitarian. It’s an extension of…
Millions of voters are siding with Donald Trump in the Republican primaries, and it’s not just because he’s a racist. He’s one of the few politicians (Bernie Sanders is another) who is telling the truth about why the American middle class is collapsing: Unfair foreign trade has decimated factory jobs, the bedrock of our economy.…
Two letters released today and yesterday indicate that the Obama administration has a daunting challenge in convincing Congress to support the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact. Bloomberg BNA| March 23, 2016 |Bloomberg BNA] Today, 19 members of the New York congressional delegation, led by Reps. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) and Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), sent a letter to…
Current U.S. trade policies have become deeply unpopular with a critical mass of Americans — that much is clear from recent primary results and exit polls, and the longer running presidential campaign success of Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders. Voters mainly, and understandably, fear that their job and wage prospects have been kneecapped by free…