WASHINGTON — Record imports lifted the U.S. trade deficit to $48.7 billion in October, highest since January. [AP | December 5, 2017 | The New York Times] The Commerce Department said Tuesday that the trade gap rose 8.6 percent in October from $44.9 billion in September. Imports hit a record $244.6 billion in October, and…
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President Donald J. Trump may have tipped his hand on which way he is leaning on the solar tariff case with a virtually unnoticed appointment overnight. [FRANK ANDORKA | December 5, 2017 | PV Magazine] Late last night, Trump appointed three men to his Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, including Daniel DiMicco, former…
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Australia, concerned about rising Chinese influence, will ban foreign political donations as part of a crackdown aimed at preventing external interference in domestic politics, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Tuesday. [December 5, 2017 | SCMP] Turnbull told reporters in Canberra that foreign powers were making “unprecedented and increasingly sophisticated attempts to influence the political…
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A stated goal of the Republican tax overhaul was to prevent corporations from shifting profits to low-tax countries. [November 30, 2017 | The New York Times] Several academic economists, legal scholars and the Coalition for a Prosperous America argued Wednesday that the Republican plan speeding its way through Congress does not sufficiently address this issue.…
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The United States has filed arguments to the World Trade Organization in a looming dispute over China’s future in the international body, which could shape the global trading system for decades to come. [ANA SWANSON | November 29, 2017 | The New York Times] Senior United States officials said on Wednesday that they had filed a brief to…
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A CPA member inquired as to whether in increase in the federal budget deficit causes increased trade deficits. This is called the Twin Deficits hypothesis. John R. Hansen, a CPA Advisory Board member and international economist, explains why there is little relationship between the two. Your paper states, “After 1998, the Federal deficit is being…
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After my article that featured The Forge in Greensboro was published, I was contacted by Joel Leonard, who informed me that he worked with the original founders of The Forge as the community developer to help uncover equipment and talent and set up initial programs “to convert Greensboring to Greensciting.” [Michele Nash-Hoff | November 30,…
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A Smarter Territorial Corporate Income Tax Bridges the Left/Right Divide Washington ~ The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) joined today with several prominent progressive scholars, sent a letter (below and linked here) to Congress urging adoption of a smart, territorial corporate income tax called sales factor apportionment (SFA). While territorial taxes are typically associated…
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About 70 per cent of foreign-funded firms in China have set up Communist Party branches, an official said on Thursday, as the party extends and strengthens its presence and control over all sectors of society. [Nectar Gan and Frank Tang | October 23, 2017 | South China Morning Post] As of the end of last year, 106,000…
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In fight to overturn Nafta, White House makes common cause with Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, a longtime free-trade skeptic. [Bob Davis and Siobhan Hughes | November 28, 2017 | WSJ] WASHINGTON—A lone senator jumped to the Trump administration’s defense last month when the U.S. Chamber of Commerce attacked its proposal to rewrite the North American Free Trade…
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