Imports surged in first quarter, depressing GDP growth. Bloomberg reports that exports are tepid in relation to imports, especially after the West Coast port labor dispute ended. The chart above is stark. Congressmen that represent districts with port cities often say – “we need free trade agreements to keep our ports busy.” And, they may…
WASHINGTON — In the early 2000s, after Michael Froman decamped from the Clinton Treasury Department for Wall Street, he called his old law school colleague Lori Wallach, now an anti-globalization activist, with an unusual proposal. [Reposted from The New York Times | Jonathan Weisman | April 27, 2015] Would she fly to Citigroup’s training center…
NEW YORK — On the heels of Mayor Bill de Blasio criticizing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as a “raw deal” and “huge mistake,” the New York City Council voted unanimously to pass a resolution declaring the city a “TPP-free zone” and urging Congress to reject “Fast Track” legislation for the trade deal. [Reposted from the…
Thirty one Democratic Congressmen sent a letter to President Obama listing demands for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The letter demands that TTIP exclude an investor-state dispute mechanism; that the deal preserve Buy American and other buy local provisions; that the U.S. and EU’s consumer, labor and environmental protections are not lowered through…
Business groups are defending the dispute settlement boards that would be included in trade agreements being negotiated by the Obama administration. [Reposted from The Hill | Kevin Cirilli | April 20, 2015] In a letter to lawmakers on Monday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers and more than 60 other groups voiced…
President Obama and Paul Ryan have a hard time making the point that the Trans Pacific Partnership will benefit the US economy, so they are shifting to a “China will write the rules if we don’t” argument. In his weekend address, Obama said: “If America doesn’t shape the rules of the global economy today,…
Transatlantic trade talks continue but controversial investor-state dispute settlement has been pushed aside until the summer [Reposted from Politico | Hans Von Der Burchard | April 20, 2015] But the European Commission’s plan to deal with one of the thorniest issues on the table — how to agree on a reform of an international tangle of…
“It contains a misleading impression, not a lie. It was being economical with the truth.” Robert Armstrong The Ways and Means Committee blog promotes Fast Track passage and sometimes “stretches the truth”. One can, of course, just tell enough of the truth to leave a misleading impression. A recent Ways and Means blog post on…
NEW YORK — In late 2013, Cisco chief executive John Chambers used a portentous phrase while telling analysts that sales in emerging markets were spiraling downward, forcing the networking equipment company to cut its three- to five-year revenue growth target: “We’re the canary in the coal mine.” [Jeffrey Rothfeder | April 25, 2015 |…
President Obama went after Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Now Senators Brown and Warren have written Obama a letter saying “If it’s so good, let everyone see it.” He told reporters that critics are spreading misinformation, that the deal is not secret (ha, ha), and that Elizabeth Warren is wrong. Here is…