This week kicked off with U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman announcing today (June 20) at the Council on Foreign Relations that the Obama administration is engaged in drafting the implementing bill of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the other required elements of a legislative package, which Congress could vote on when a “window of opportunity” opens…
Carrier Corp.’s decision to shutter its manufacturing operation on Indianapolis’ west side will cause a domino effect that will wipe out more than 2,700 jobs across Indiana and cost the state’s economy more than $100 million a year, experts say. [Kris Turner| June 17, 2016 |Indy Star] Carrier plans to eliminate 1,400 low- to midgrade manufacturing…
I recently attended a talk given by the Obama administration’s lead trade negotiator, Mike Froman, who was asked: “Why are Americans so angry about globalization right now?” His answer was one I’d heard many times, but of which I’ve often been skeptical. In so many words, he argued that the costs of trade are acute,…
The leadership of the House Agriculture Committee and the chairman of the House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee have urged their colleagues to oppose the transfer of catfish inspection from USDA to the Food and Drug Administration, which they charged at a minimum involves the misuse of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) and would fail to protect…
It’s “the least boring piece of news related to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in ages,”according to one campaigner. [Deirdre Fulton| June 15, 2016 |Common Dreams] Celebrities including Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, punk band Anti-Flag, and Lost actress Evangeline Lilly are mobilizing against the 12-nation, corporate-friendly deal—which has been exposed by multiple analyses as threatening the climate, labor protections, access to medicine, and…
American made athletic footwear just got a potential big boost from the Department of Defense. [Zameena Mejia| June 15, 2016 |Footwear News] The U.S. Senate on June 14 passed a Department of Defense bill that requires the Pentagon to purchase American-made athletic shoes for military recruits. This would subject athletic footwear to the Berry Amendment, originally…
The House Ways & Means Trade Subcommittee this week launched the “first in a series of hearings about how U.S. trade policies affect specific sectors of the economy,” according to an email by press secretary Lauren Blair Aronson, leading off with the agriculture sector. [Daily News| June 15, 2016 |Inside US Trade] The June 14…
U.S. Under Secretary of State Catherine Novelli met senior Cambodian leaders in Phnom Penh last Friday during a three-day visit to the country, discussing a range of issues including deforestation, the investment climate, energy and technology. [Phorn Bopha| June 13, 2016 |Voa News] Novelli also raised the possibility that Cambodia could join the Trans-Pacific Partnership…
The Trans-Pacific Partnership continues to be one of the critical unfinished issues as the Obama administration wraps up its eight-year tenure. The regional trade agreement involves 12 nations and nearly 40 percent of global GDP – including the key economies such as the United States, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Vietnam. [J Berkshire Miller| June…
A number of former trade officials from countries party to the Trans-Pacific Partnership warned on Wednesday (June 15) that anti-trade sentiment in the United States and other countries is qualitatively different than movements against trade in the past and could threaten U.S. leadership on the issue in the 21st century. [Daily News| June 16, 2016…