Glenn Duffie Shriver looked like an ideal CIA recruit. Gregarious and athletic, the 28-year-old from Michigan had been a good student with strong interests in world affairs and foreign languages since childhood. What made him even more attractive as a prospective CIA employee, however, was that he had studied and worked in China and was…

The US has the lowest trade barriers and the largest trade deficit in the world — $500bn annually. [Wilbur Ross] April 4th, 2017 [Financial Times] This is why President Donald Trump has directed the US Department of Commerce to report back within 90 days with a comprehensive analysis of the economic realities and the fine details of…

The Senate Finance Committee will reschedule a session to consider the nomination of President Trump’s pick for U.S. Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, to ensure that Democratic member Sherrod Brown (OH) — who told Inside U.S. Trade he is likely to vote in favor of Lighthizer — and other Democrats can be present. [Jenny Leonard & Jack Caporal] April…

Today the Commerce Department announced that the US goods and services trade deficit for February was $43.6 billion, down 9.5% from the January figure of $48.2 billion. The reduction occurred despite a $1.6 billion increase in the US-China bilateral deficit.  “While one month does not make a trend, a 9.5% decrease our global trade deficit…

MOUNT PROSPECT, ILL. — The United States corporate tax rate has been stuck at 35 percent for three decades. In that time, other leading countries have slashed their corporate rates to an average of 25 percent, with many far below that figure. This tax rate discrepancy puts domestic manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage and creates…

There have been a flood of opinion pieces and news stories in recent weeks wrongly telling people that it was not trade that led to the loss of manufacturing jobs in recent years, but rather automation. This means that all of those people who are worried about trade deficits costing jobs are simply being silly.…

President Trump is expected to sign two trade-related executive orders on March 31, one directing the Commerce Department to examine the causes of U.S. trade deficits, country-by-country, with the results likely to lead to concrete actions, according to administration officials. [Brett Fortnam] March 30th, 2017 [Inside US Trade] The second order is geared toward improving…

Government Suppression of Labor Rights Precludes Market Economy Status (WASHINGTON) –The Teamsters Union supports a full review of China’s trade non-market economy by the Department of Commerce and reviewing the country’s suitability to be classified as a market economy by the World Trade Organization. [Galen Munroe] March 31st, 2017 [Teamsters] China’s extensive government involvement in…

The purchase by Ant Financial, which is partially owned by the Chinese government, poses a test for the Treasury Department oversight body. A Chinese company’s plans to acquire U.S. money transfer giant MoneyGram is raising fears that the communist government in Beijing could gain sensitive intelligence on Americans’ personal and financial information — including data…

New Initiatives Tackle Trade Deficit, Tariff Enforcement (WASHINGTON) –The Teamsters Union supports two executive orders signed today that establish initiatives to address long-standing issues that have plagued U.S. trade policy. [Galen Munroe] March 31st, 2017 [Teamsters] The first executive order commissions a report on trade practices of countries with which the U.S. has a trade…