Heitkamp tops Trump’s list for agriculture secretary

[JOSH DAWSEY, ANDREW RESTUCCIA and JENNY HOPKINSON | December 10, 2016 |Politico] Sen. Heidi Heitkamp has emerged as President-elect Donald Trump’s leading choice for agriculture secretary, sources close to the transition tell POLITICO. The first-term Democrat from North Dakota and member of the Senate Agriculture Committee has been a vocal advocate for farmers and broke from her party on several controversial…

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Trump claims manufacturing wins

[ KENNETH P. VOGEL | December 09, 2016 |Politico] GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Donald Trump took his pre-inauguration manufacturing job bonanza into this former manufacturing hub on Friday and stood proudly by as the CEO of Dow Chemical announced a new, state-of-the-art innovation center in the state. But the precise number of jobs that would be…

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Trump to give Wilbur Ross trade policy powers

[  Shawn Donnan and Demetri Sevastopulo | December 09, 2016 |Financial Times] Donald Trump wants Wilbur Ross, the billionaire investor tapped for commerce secretary, to oversee his trade policy in a controversial move that could spark a battle between the incoming administration and Congress. Mr Trump has agreed to give Mr Ross, a close friend, responsibility for handling one…

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China Faces Off Against World on Open Global Markets

[ MARK MAGNIER and WILLIAM MAULDIN | December 09, 2016 |Wall Street Journal ] China’s 15-year anniversary as a member of the World Trade Organization on Sunday threatens to trigger a clash with growing forces in the West that cast Beijing as an abuser of open global markets. The anniversary marks Beijing’s eligibility for “market-economy status,” which would remove many risks…

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