Currency manipulation distorts trade flows by artificially lowering the cost of U.S. imports and raising the cost of U.S. exports, and is the leading cause of stubbornly high U.S. trade deficits over the past 15 years. More than 20 countries, led by China, have, together, been spending about $1 trillion per year buying foreign assets…
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President Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Sen. Rand Paul don’t agree on much. [William Maulding| January, 12 2016 | Wall Street Journal] So it’s not a surprise that each is espousing totally different views on how a big Pacific trading agreement will affect China, which is not a member of the trade bloc. And as it turns out, each can…
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President Barack Obama is expected to prioritize the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in his State of the Union address. The TPP text was finally released in November after seven years of secretive talks during which this Washington Post infographic shows 500 U.S. trade advisors representing corporate interests had special access. Congress, the public and press were…
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Two major United States manufacturers of titanium products are warning that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will open the floodgates to duty-free imports of the metal from Japan as well as from other major producers who are not party to the trade deal like China and Russia, which they say would cause “serious harm” to the…
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With this column we conclude our series of articles examining the impact of trade agreements on US agriculture as well as the US economy as a whole. In 2012, trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and Korea went into effect. By far, the volume of trade with Korea was the most significant. In addition we examine…
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The top Democrat on the House Ways & Means Committee said Thursday (Jan. 7) that TransCanada’s plan to file an investor-state claim against the U.S. under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) over the rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline highlights why some of the reforms to investment rules that he had proposed should have been…
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The Canadian company behind the Keystone XL pipeline filed two legal challenges against President Barack Obama on Wednesday, contending he violated NAFTA and the U.S. Constitution when he rejected the project in November. [by Elena Schor| January 6, 2016 |Politico] The legal challenges are unlikely to undo the rejection by Obama, but they may yet revive…
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Rep Sander Levin, as Ranking Member on Ways/Means, is holding a hearing tomorrow to focus upon TPP and currency. The hearing is entitled: ‘Trading Views’ TPP Hearing on Currency Manipulation. Levin’s staff has prepared an authoritative memo on how the TPP side agreement on currency is not worth the paper it is written on.…
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It’s now harder to find out where your beef or pork was born, raised and slaughtered. [by Mary Clare Jalonick| January 3, 2016 |ABC News] After more than a decade of wrangling, Congress repealed a labeling law last month that required retailers to include the animal’s country of origin on packages of red meat. It’s…
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Stumo note: The Census Bureau BEA reported today that US exports continued their decline in November. The trade deficit widened over November 2014. Imports were down as well, causing the trade deficit to actually improve a bit over October. Low energy prices were a big part of the reduced import number. See the full report…
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