The terms of two of the seven WTO Appellate Body (“AB”) members expire at the end of May. For one member, a replacement must be found as the existing member has served the maximum time permitted by the rules (two four-year terms). For the second, the AB member has sought reappointment to a second four-year…
As American steel production falters, China has begun efforts to dump its excess steel at slashed prices. [Kenya Sinclair| May 23, 2016 |Catholic] LOS ANGELES, CA – According to Thomas J. Gibson, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute, and Chuck Schmitt, president of SSAB Americas and chairman of the American Iron and Steel’s Institute’s…
by Michael Stumo Back in our colonial days, we participated in what was called Triangular Trade. Our 13 colonies exported raw materials and natural resources to Europe. Europe exported value added manufactured goods. Africa exported slaves to the colonies. Then America became a manufacturing powerhouse using our own raw materials (minus the slaves) to…
During the Reagan administration, American companies believed that in addition to returning profits to their shareholders, they also held a moral obligation to consider the interests of their employees, community and nation. [Dana Rohrabacher and Greg Autry| May 26, 2016 |Washington Times] America’s current business model suffers from a tragic misalignment of interests that is…
The U.S. International Trade Commission has accepted a Section 337 petition filed by the U.S. Steel Corporation that at a minimum seeks a ban on steel imports from China’s largest forty producers due to illegal competition via theft of trade secrets, price fixing and false designation of origin. [Daily News| May 26, 2016 |Inside US…
The 18th round of negotiations on a secret deal to limit public oversight over the services economy starts today at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, and negotiators will have a new item on their agenda: how to deal with the onslaught of leaks of proposals that were supposed to remain locked away in…
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday (May 25) strongly signaled that it is not expecting a vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership this year when it urged the next president of the United States to pursue pro-trade policies starting with the approval of the TPP and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership in a publicly…
During the second day of U.S. President Barack Obama’s three-day visit to Vietnam, Obama continued to push for passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. [Sean Caleb| May 24, 2016 |CCTV] Obama says the deal will benefit many Asian nations but the U.S. president admits he’s facing a hard-sell back home with a skeptical Congress.…
Sen. Marco Rubio weighed in Tuesday on the ITC’s projections of economic gains from TPP, calling them “a little bit disappointing.” But he indicated he hasn’t made up his mind about the deal. [Victoria Guida and Doug Palmer| May 25, 2016 |Politico] “We’ve seen the report that just came out,” the former presidential candidate told…
The government’s own assessment of the toxic Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) shows that the controversial trade deal will produce negligible economic benefits while damaging most Americans’ jobs and wages. [Deirdre Fulton| May 19, 2016 |Common Dreams] The U.S. International Trade Commission’s (ITC) report (pdf), issued Wednesday, shows that the TPP “would likely have only a small positive…