Representatives of labor unions, the Sierra Club and Central Valley-Sierra Progressives gathered Thursday in front of Rep. Jim Costa’s district office in downtown Fresno to urge the Democratic legislator to oppose a streamlined approval process for a politically divisive trade pact backed by President Obama. [Reposted from The Fresno Bee | Tim Sheehan | May…
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President Obama is scheduled to visit Nike’s Oregon headquarters on Friday to promote the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Yes, Nike – a company that grew to billions by outsourcing jobs to overseas sweatshops, a company that sets up P.O.-box subsidiaries in tax havens to avoid paying U.S. taxes, a company that uses threats to extort tax…
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Mitch McConnell is calling Harry Reid’s bluff. With his move to tee up a critical trade vote for Tuesday, the Senate majority leader challenged Reid (D-Nev.) to make good on his threat to block movement on trade until the Senate determines a strategy for surveillance legislation and highway funding. [Reposted from Politico | Sueng Min…
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The Obama administration’s full-court press on trade isn’t racking up enough Democratic votes to move the president’s agenda through Congress, Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) said Thursday. [Reposted from The Hill | Vicki Needham | May 7, 2015] The Obama administration’s full-court press on trade isn’t racking up enough Democratic votes to move the president’s agenda…
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Washington (CNN)One of President Barack Obama’s favorite sales pitches for his proposed trade deal with Pacific Rim nations — known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP — is that it will be a boon to the U.S. auto industry. If the TPP is passed, Obama argues, more Ford Mustangs and Chevy pick-ups will be cruising…
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The trade agreement lies stoop to a new low. Laughable. Nike, saying it will create 10,000 domestic jobs, backs the president’s case that the Trans-Pacific Partnership could help American manufacturing. [Reposted from The New York Times | Peter Baker | May 8, 2015] BEAVERTON, Ore. — President Obama on Friday lashed out at critics within…
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Senators Orrin Hatch and Ron Wyden have introduced a Senate bill calling for “fast track” Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) along with House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. A smoldering debate over trade is expected to get even hotter now that Congress has returned from its two-week spring break. Months of closed-door negotiations continue.…
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Alabama senator Jeff Sessions, a Republican, has written a letter to President Barack Obama regarding the request that Congress “fast-track” legislation on Trade Promotion Authority. Sessions says he has a number of questions Congress should expect answers to before the body agrees to “yield its institutional powers.” Read the full letter below: [Reposted from The…
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Wednesday (May 6) morning kicked off the process for Senate floor consideration of a Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill by making a motion to proceed to the legislation, although the Senate is still debating an Iran nuclear bill and is not slated to finish that until Thursday at…
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Experts say that a chronic gap between imports and exports could impede a generally improving economy. [Reposted from The New York Times | Patricia Cohen | May 5, 2015] A roof-raising trade gap in March highlighted concerns that the rise of the dollar against other currencies was weakening the economy, chipping away at the ability…
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