Last month, President Trump submitted a “Skinny Budget” with the goal of removing some of the “fat” within Washington DC. Unfortunately, one of the programs eliminated in his budget is not “fat.” The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) is the only federally funded national network dedicated to serving small and medium-sized U. S. manufacturers. [Michele Nash-Hoff]…
The House Republican corporate tax reform proposal is bold and innovative. Its most outstanding positive feature is a shift to a destination-based corporate tax. A destination-based system moves the profit, and therefore the tax, to the place of consumption. That small change, alone, could eliminate decades of tax avoidance strategies by multinational companies. It would…
Following President Trump’s charge earlier this week that U.S. dairy farmers have suffered from “some very unfair things” in Canada, the country’s envoy to Washington, David MacNaughton, said U.S. claims are not based on fact — and that Canada is living up to its international trade obligations. [Jenny Leonard] April 17th, 2017 [Inside U.S. Trade]…
Some lawmakers, industry and labor groups are praising President Trump’s directive calling for a “systemic review” of Buy American laws as a good “first step,” but add that details and enforceable action are still missing while they await the release of the executive order signed by the president during an April 18 event in Kenosha,…
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Research Director We often hear of state and federal officials chasing after foreign investment dollars, trying to bring money into the U.S. Recently a dozen CEO’s of foreign companies met with the Trump Administration to make the case that foreign investment is an unabashed good for America. Only a few days…
Donald Trump won the presidency in significant measure on a promise to deliver more robust growth and better jobs. As things stand, his efforts and GOP prospects for the midterm elections will importantly hinge on accomplishing tax reforms that encourage more investment. [Peter Morici] April 17th, 2017 [Washington Times] Stronger growth could be greatly assisted by…
Washington~ President Trump will sign today an executive order directing the “systematic review” of Buy American laws at Snap-On, Inc. in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The order will examine the so-called “public interest” exemptions government procurement officers use to get around these rules. It will also review whether exemptions granted to allow purchases from foreign companies provide…
It is an about-face by a president who, as recently as this month, called the Chinese “world champions” at currency manipulation. [ALAN RAPPEPORT] April 14th, 2017 [The New York Times] WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department officially declined on Friday to label China a currency manipulator, breaking one of President Trump’s most prominent campaign promises. In its exchange…
Renegotiating trade deals is favored by 58 percent of the public, and opposed by just over 25 percent. [JOHN CARNEY] April 12th, 2017 [Breitbart] A new survey from CNBC shows that Americans are highly optimistic about the economy and strongly support for President Donald Trump’s economic agenda. The “CNBC All American Survey” recorded the highest level…
House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX), in meetings with members of the New Democrat Coalition and his panel’s minority members last week, sought input on a tax reform bill — including a controversial border adjustment provision — but left Democrats on Capitol Hill and other sources doubting whether Brady’s August time line…