By Jeff Ferry, CPA Research Director The productivity figures for the US economy in 2017, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) last month, show the US economy continuing to underperform on productivity growth, one of the most important metrics for the long-term health of the economy. The labor productivity of our non-farm business…
Details
MEXICO CITY – Negotiators have made progress on automotive rules of origin, state-to-state dispute settlement and a review mechanism during the seventh round of North American Free Trade Agreement talks here, though the U.S. continues to refuse to back down from some of its more controversial proposals, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. [ Brett…
Details
Last week President Trump announced new tariffs on steel and aluminum products, and the response couldn’t have been more negative — critics warned of trade wars, recession, global instability. But the blowback is overblown, and seems to constitute reflexive anti-Trump sentiment rather than careful economic reasoning. [Josh Bivens | March 5, 2018 | NY Times]…
Details
Yesterday, President Donald Trump said that he has decided to impose tariffs of 25% on all steel imports and 10% on aluminum imports, promising to sign the measures next week. Trade remedies for steel and aluminum are long overdue. [Robert E. Scott | March 2, 2018 | Marketwatch] Trump promised quick action after announcing investigations of the national-security…
Details
North American Free Trade Agreement negotiators did not make the progress that “many had hoped” would be made in the seventh round of talks, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Monday, warning that the three countries were running out of time. [ Dan Dupont | March 5, 2018 | Inside US Trade] Crediting negotiators for…
Details
As the recent Winter Olympics reminds us, cheating is absolutely unacceptable in the international arena. A policy of “zero tolerance” is enforced, and any athletes taking performance-enhancing drugs are immediately disqualified. Op-ed By Michael Stumo Originally Appeared on The Hill Unfortunately, such scrutiny doesn’t always extend to the world of international trade, with countries like…
Details
A day after facing widespread heat for his announcement of impending tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which critics abroad and at home say will lead to a wave of retaliation, President Trump used his Twitter feed to declare that trade wars are good – and “easy to win.” [March 2, 2018 | Inside US…
Details
Nearly 60 percent of American voters say imposing tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum is crucial to the United States’ economic relationship with China. [John Binder | March 1, 2018 | Breitbart] In a Morning Consult poll, 59 percent of Americans say it is “important” that President Trump place tariffs on imported steel and aluminum,…
Details
Dan DiMicco, Coalition for a Prosperous American chair and former Nucor CEO, discusses the Trump administration’s plans for imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum as early as next week.
While some commentators are fretting about President Trump imposing tariffs on a flood of subsidized steel and aluminum imports, it’s helpful to note that President Obama took a similar stance. Not only did he espouse strong trade rhetoric against China in his 2012 State of the Union address, but he also imposed tariffs on steel,…
Details