(Update of a blog post from March 14, 2014). March 15th was the third anniversary of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS). President Obama said that the agreement would support 70,000 U.S. jobs. This claim was supported by a White House fact sheet that claimed that the KORUS agreement would “increase exports of American goods by $10…
China’s navy chief, Adm. Wu Shengli, strolled the Harvard University campus in a tweed blazer and slacks during a visit to the U.S. last fall, joking with students and quizzing school officials about enrolling some of his officers. [Reposted from the Wall Street Journal | Jeremy Page | March 30, 2015] A few days earlier,…
WASHINGTON-A liberal Internet freedom group says it mounted an anti-free-trade protest Tuesday night that scared away Sen. Ron Wyden from holding a fundraiser at an upscale French restaurant near the Capito [Reposted from The Oregonian | Jeff Mapes | March 25, 2015] The Oregon Democrat said in a brief interview outside his office that “we…
The following is an article by Dave Frengel that was printed in the Butler Eagle. Dave was the Director of Government Relations for Penn United Technologies, and sits on the Board of Directors of CPA. The only time during President Barack Obama’s January 20th State of the Union Address that most Democrats sat still while…
The linchpin of President Obama’s trade agenda in the Senate is coming under intense pressure from the left to go against the White House. [Reposted from The Hill | Vicki Needham | March 26, 2015] Liberal groups are threatening to back a primary challenge to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a key member of the Senate…
The Obama administration is pursuing two major trade agreements—the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the European Union and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with eleven countries in the Pacific Rim. Provisions in these agreements could undermine national sovereignty and a slew of regulations, including laws protecting competitive markets. These threats stem in large part…
This blog post is part of a series about the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. Last week, an investment tribunal established under the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) issued an award in Bilcon v. Canada. The tribunal ruled in favor of a U.S. investor who had challenged the…
In the last several months, the dollar has strengthened tremendously against other currencies like the euro, the pound and the yen. This largely reflects the realization among investors that the American economy will do much better than other major economies in the coming months. [Reposted from The New York Times | The Editorial Board …
Sen. Ben Cardin (D., Md.) is among the lawmakers looking into more of a consumption-tax system for the U.S. U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle increasingly are finding appeal in an ambitious concept for overhauling the nation’s income-tax system: a tax based on consumption, a tool long used around the world. [Reposted from…
Here is a letter from Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to a constituent who wrote asking him to oppose Fast Track trade authority. March 6, 2015 Dear Constituent: Thank you for writing to express your concerns regarding Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation and the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement. I agree that Congress and the American people…