The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce, announced today that the goods and services deficit was $41.9 billion in May, up $1.2 billion from $40.7 billion in April, revised. May exports were $188.6 billion, $1.5 billion less than April exports. May imports were $230.5 billion, $0.3…
Germany is using its size and wealth to compel its Eurozone partners to take a hard line toward Greece but in the end, Germany has much to lose by forcing the Aegean nation to choose between more austerity and dumping the euro. [ by Peter Morici | July 7, 2015 ] Merkel’s government has…
With Europe trying to contain the crisis in Greece and China attempting to limit the fallout from collapsing stock prices, the U.S. may be in for a bit of trade trouble. [by Justin Lahart | July 6, 2015 | WSJ] The Commerce Department will report May international trade figures Tuesday, and with the…
Updated: Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade ministers are set to meet for two days beginning July 28 in Maui, Hawaii, to try and hammer out a deal, following several days of meetings there between chief negotiators, according to informed sources. Another source gave slightly different dates for the ministerial meeting, saying it would last four…
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on Wednesday (July 1) made clear he does not view the lack of a bilateral market access deal with Japan as an obstacle to making progress on the other outstanding issues in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, which he identified as those relating to agricultural market access with Canada, intellectual…
As he amassed wealth after leaving the Florida governor’s office, Jeb Bush delivered 10 separate paid speeches to a South Korean metal company that won more than $1 billion in contracts from his brother’s presidential administration, according to disclosures released Tuesday. [Reposted from Politico | Kenneth Vogel | July 1, 2015] The company, Poongsan Corp.,…
On Thursday’s Podcast, Ed is joined by former Ohio Governor and Democratic Senate Candidate Ted Strickland to discuss the effects of bad trade deals on the state of Ohio. We are also joined by Kevin Kearns, President of the United States Business and Industry Council to discuss the lack of Value Added Tax within these…
A recent draft of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade deal would give U.S. pharmaceutical firms unprecedented protections against competition from cheaper generic drugs, possibly transcending the patent protections in U.S. law. [Reposted from Politico | Michael Grunwald | July 1, 2015] POLITICO has obtained a draft copy of TPP’s intellectual property chapter as it stood on…
Bill Maher isn’t pleased about the current state of American corporate regulation. [Reposted from the Huffington Post | Lily Karlin | June 27, 2015] On “Real Time with Bill Maher” Friday night, the host skewered the “Republican-led House” for voting to end the requirement that meat labels include information about the origin of the product.…
BEIJING — At a ceremony imbued with quiet triumph at the Great Hall of the People, China’s president, Xi Jinping, hosted 56 member countries on Monday for the founding of a China-led infrastructure bank for Asia, including major American allies from Asia and Europe that Washington had counseled not to join the bank. [by…
