Experts say that a chronic gap between imports and exports could impede a generally improving economy. [Reposted from The New York Times  |  Patricia Cohen  |  May 5, 2015] A roof-raising trade gap in March highlighted concerns that the rise of the dollar against other currencies was weakening the economy, chipping away at the ability…

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) threatened Monday (May 4) to block consideration of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation unless Senate Republicans first move on two Democratic priorities: the renewal of the highway trust fund and a bill to reform to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which authorizes data collection and eavesdropping programs for…

  U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack has formally told Congress that it may need to repeal the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law for meat or else change the statute to allow for a “generic label” if the United States loses a final appeal at the World Trade Organization later this month.   Vilsack…

  Senate Republicans and business groups are criticizing an amendment on human trafficking added to the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill in last week’s Finance Committee markup as hampering the ability of the fast-track bill to function as intended, and are trying to find ways to get it out of the legislation.   Senate Finance…

Please join CPA and protect Country Of Origin Labeling.  The United States Congress passed a law 10 years ago that requires meat, seafood and produce to be clearly labeled as to their country of origin.  They called it Country of Origin Labeling, or COOL. But other governments and global meatpackers are challenging our COOL law. …

Will Hillary Clinton oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and the fast track authority designed to ramrod it through the Congress? She’s been noncommittal to date, with many assuming she will eventually support the president who she served as secretary of state. But by calling out his opponents, President Obama has turned the escalating battle…

House Republican opposition to sweeping trade legislation isn’t breaking down along traditional Tea Party-GOP establishment fault lines. [Reposted from The Hill  |  Scott Wong and Vicki Needham  |  May 3, 3015] But the pockets of GOP defections will give President Obama and Republican leaders little wiggle room to muscle a bill through the lower chamber.…

The following is an Op-Ed from The Washington Times co authored by Brian O’Shaughnessy, Chairman of Revere Copper Products and Chief Co Chair and Co Chair of Manufacturing on the CPA Board of Directors. The Washington elite in both parties are famous for their bickering over issues large and small but they seem to have…

  U.S. industry is increasingly uncompetitive in global markets and the consequences of fast-growing trade imbalances could be troublesome for the American economy and the international financial system, according to analyst Ernest Preeg of the Manufacturers Alliance / MAPI. [by Richard McCormack | April 28, 2015 | M&T News] In a stunning report outlining the…

If you want to hear the details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal the Obama administration is hoping to pass, you’ve got to be a member of Congress, and you’ve got to go to classified briefings and leave your staff and cellphone at the door. [Reposted from Politico  |  Edward Isaac Dovere  |  May 4,…