Excerpt: However, “the United States remains an independent nation, and our trade policy will be made here – not in Geneva. We will not allow the WTO Appellate Body and dispute settlement system to force the United States into a straitjacket of obligations to which we never agreed,” the report said. WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration filed…

Editors note: Good news. An important expansion of buy America programs. We need to expand it even more this year so US taxpayer money is spent on buying made in USA goods. New recruits at Lackland Air Force Base shuffle into a room stacked high with shoe boxes. They’re in the middle of one of…

Editor’s note: CPA has previously informed USTR of the impact of China’s devaluation since the tariffs were put in place. Ambassador Lighthizer’s decision against an exclusion process is based, in part, on that devaluation.  [February 27, 2019 | InsideTrade.com] Despite instructions from the House Appropriations Committee in a government funding package signed by the president…

Editors note: Beware slow walking. Trade Ambassador Lighthizer knows this risk.  Cui Tiankai says aspects requiring legislation could take ‘five to 10 years’, although some requested measures tally with Beijing’s own plans. Ambassador sees US action against Huawei as separate issue to trade talks but calls pursuit of the Chinese company ‘stupid’ and ‘absurd’ [Owen…

Editor’s note: Farmers and ranchers face subsidized global oversupply in commodities just as manufacturers do. China is a culprit but so is Brazil and other countries. The factories of Rural America are its fields. We need an agro-industrial strategy because we are mostly defenseless in the face of other countries’ agro-industrial strategy.  Washington, DC – U.S.…

Excerpt: “President Trump’s threat of auto tariffs likely supported this major investment decision,” Stumo continued. “If the tariffs on imported autos are imposed, it will help FCA’s Jeep and Ram further increase sales and market share, benefitting the Michigan economy and creating even more good paying jobs.” Fiat Chrysler to Reopen Idled Detroit Plant, Bring 6.5K U.S.…

Editors note: While this article portrays overcapacity in China’s automotive manufacturing plants as a problem, it may also be the beginning of driving American companies out of local and global markets with subsidized, state supported competitors. Chrysler, Ford and General Motors saw a booming Chinese driving culture and cheap labor. Now the market is slowing,…

Editor’s note. The 232 tariffs have succeeded in getting the steel industry to the 80% capacity utilization target. Steel prices are now below pre-tariff levels, because the industry can be profitable with the same prices as before because fixed costs are spread across more output.  The domestic steel industry last week exceeded the capacity utilization…

Excerpt. “The Wall Street and globalist wing of the administration seem to be pushing for a short-term deal that we know will not be sufficient for our long-term interests,” [Michael Stumo] said. President Trump stoked expectations Monday for a successful conclusion to U.S.-China trade talks, saying he anticipated signing an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping…

Editor’s note: Globalization inherently lessens the wage share of the economy, even if trade deals are “fair”. Localization is not explicitly on the agenda, but it arguably should be. Workers’ slice of the pie has been shrinking, confounding economists [Paul Kiernan | February 23, 2019 | Wall Street Journal] WASHINGTON—With U.S. unemployment near lows seen…