This extraordinary primary season has clearly shown that Americans, whether Democrats or Republicans, have finally rebelled against “free trade.” [Ralph Gomory| May 11, 2016 |The Huffington Post] It is high time. There is an enormous gap between free trade as it is taught in textbooks and advocated by those who benefit from it and free…
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Power players in the financial services industry are threatening to sit out the push for President Obama’s Pacific Rim trade deal unless the administration addresses one of their main objections to the pact. [Vicky Needham| May 12, 2016 |The Hill] Banks, insurance companies and other financial companies oppose a provision in the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership…
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by Michael Stumo Opposition to rigged trade deals drove the results another primary contest. Sanders continues outperforming expectations with a win in West Virginia’s Dem primary yesterday, even though Clinton has opposed the TPP. Trump won as expected now that he has no opponents remaining. Exit polls showed how powerful the issue of dumb trade…
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In the coming months, Congress will likely face a vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a massive trade deal covering 12 countries and 40 percent of global trade. It’s the largest trade deal the United States has ever negotiated, and would have an enormous effect on workers in every corner of the country. [Senator Franken| May 07,…
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New Democrat Coalition Vice-Chair Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) late last week said there is a “50-50” chance that the Trans-Pacific Partnership will come up for a vote in a potential lame-duck session of Congress this year due to an unprecedented loss of support for free trade in both parties and the possibility that Republicans will…
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On the fourth anniversary of the Korean trade deal, its lofty promises have been revealed as putrid pie in the sky: More jobs lost. No exports gained. [Leo Gerard| May 9, 2016 |Huffington Post] Just like NAFTA, just like China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), free traders swore that the Korean deal would…
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The latest round of talks on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) provoked angry protests in Europe, particularly in Germany–and almost total indifference in the U.S. That raises the question of why it’s being negotiated in the first place. There is already plenty of trade flowing in both directions across the Atlantic. E.U. investment…
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WASHINGTON — U.S. Customs and Border Protection established a Trade Enforcement Task Force last month within CBP’s Office of Trade to further protect the American economy and domestic industry. The task force is focused on issues related to enforcement of antidumping and countervailing duty laws, and interdiction of imported products using forced labor. Both antidumping…
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This year’s political campaign has forced the economics profession to reconsider the fraying orthodoxy of free trade. [Stan Sorscher| May 5, 2016 |Huffington Post] Last week, Martin Khor documented the shift in thinking by several economists. In particular, the new NAFTA-style trade deal – the Trans-Pacific Partnership, is in deep trouble. Khor makes the key economic…
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Like most modern trade deals, TTIP has less to do with tariffs than with so-called “non-tariff trade barriers,” a euphemism for ordinary health, safety, environmental, and financial regulations that corporations want to weaken both at home and abroad. In democratic societies, the people usually decide the balance between protecting the public and satisfying commerce. But…
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