One of the biggest myths one hears about free trade is that it has “lifted millions out of poverty.” This thoughtless piece of happy-talk is a favorite boast of Thomas Friedman (author, The Lexus and the Olive Tree) types and those who never woke up from the late-1990s dream of uncontrolled globalization. [Reposted from the…
BRUSSELS — The European Union authorities on Thursday opened a formal investigation into whether Luxembourg granted McDonald’s overly generous tax breaks. [ by James Kanter | December 03, 2015 | The New York Times ] The move is the latest sign that Margrethe Vestager, the bloc’s competition commissioner, is determined to widen a crackdown on corporate…
Earlier this month, President Obama announced that his administration had decided against the Keystone XL pipeline that the TransCanada Corp. proposed to build between Canada and the United States. He did so explicitly citing environmental concerns, notably the need for the U.S. to be “a global leader when it comes to taking serious action…
I had the pleasure of witnessing the dreams of entrepreneurs come true when I attended the Vogt Invention and Innovation Awards Demo Day in Louisville, Kentucky on November 17thand watched Inscope Medical Solutions LLC, a Louisville-based startup, win $100,000 in grant funding. [Reposted from savingusmanufacturing.com | Michele Nash-Hoff | December 2, 2015] Inscope Medical has…
Business group runs ads deploring lack of currency provisions in trade deal Contact Kevin L. Kearns: 202-957-9994 (cell); 202-266-3980 (office) Washington, DC. November 30, 2015. The U.S. Business and Industry Council (USBIC) announced today the start of a media campaign to highlight the lack of enforceable currency provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The…
Forty members of the House Steel Caucus are urging House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady and the panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Sandy Levin, to push for final passage of the customs bill as soon as possible. The lawmakers, who wrote Brady and Levin in late November, are particularly interested in provisions…
Environmental activists are traveling to Paris this week, using the global climate conference as a platform to oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the trade deal they say undermines the summit’s goals. [Reposted from The Washington Post | Catherine Ho | December 2, 2015] Representatives and lobbyists for the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth and the Institute for Agriculture…
TRADE agreements are fundamental to both expanding exports and global economic development and are critical to the long-term profitability of U.S. agriculture, according to representatives of agricultural groups who testified at the Nov. 17 International Trade Commission (ITC) hearing examining the economic impacts of trade agreements. [by Jacqui Fatka | November 24, 2015 |…
High wages are not behind the decline in U.S. manufacturing competitiveness, according to Exchange rate policies, not high wages, are why U.S. lags China and Germany in export performance, a new EPI report released today. Instead, currency manipulation and unfair trade practices are to blame for the loss of 5.4 million U.S. manufacturing jobs between…
The U.S. Business and Industry Council (USBIC) has launched a media campaign intended to drive awareness of the lack of enforceable currency provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). [Reposted from Campaign For America’s Future | Dave Johnson | December 1st, 2015] USBIC represents domestic manufacturers and has an excellent Trading Away Jobs website. The group’s print ads…
