Over three years ago, I wrote an article about the release of the Senate Armed Services Committee report on counterfeit parts in the Department of Defense supply chain. The committee had found over 1,800 cases of counterfeit parts in just the Air Force C-130J and C-27J cargo plane, as well as assemblies used in the…
Donald Trump loves to talk about China. He loves to talk about China to the point that one can cobble together a compilation of the times he said “China” — and let it run for three minutes. [Reposted from The Washington Post | Philip Bump | September 10, 2015] China China China. China China China…
by Michael Stumo: China’s heavy handed tactics to prevent stock market trading that Communist Party leaders don’t like are a reminder that it’s is really great that China is a member of the WTO since 2000. So they can be the free market country they are today, spurring American exports and preserving American jobs! Here…
By Michael Stumo: The White House opposition to an effective regime to control currency undervaluation globally derives, in part, from their reliance on impotent efforts at international dialogue. One venue for that dialogue is the G20 meetings. The G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bankers periodically meet to discuss global economic issues and coordination. The recent…
by Charles Blum, CPA Government Relations Director and President of IAS Group [How is Japan drastically devaluing the yen without direct central bank intervention? Given the results of mercantilist Abenomics, how can US trade negotiators involved in the Trans Pacific Partnership talks persist in the belief that Japan is a substantial potential market for US…
The Sept. 7 Labor Day holiday marked the end of the summer and the beginning of the fall work period in Washington, meaning Congress is back in town with a busy agenda that may leave little room for passing the pending customs bill and poses obstacles for reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. [Reposted from Inside…
Earlier manufacturing cutbacks create delays, add to price tag as construction rebounds [Reposted from the Wall Street Journal | Robbie Whelan | September 8, 2015] A shortage of glass is taking a toll on the nation’s commercial building boom, adding millions of dollars to the cost of new skyscrapers and halting some projects midway through…
The U.S. Department of Commerce (“DOC”) has launched an investigation into the alleged illegal dumping of certain hot-rolled steel flat products by seven countries into the American market. Hot-rolled steel is used in appliances, automotive products, heavy machinery, machine parts, commercial construction and transportation equipment. The U.S. Department of Commerce (“DOC”) has launched an investigation…
When John Pierpont Morgan bought Andrew Carnegie’s steel business and combined it with two competitors to create U.S. Steel in 1901, the result was the world’s first billion-dollar corporation. Its roughly $1.4 billion market value would translate into about $33 billion in current dollars. But the company is worth less than a tenth of that today, at…
by Michael Stumo One of the biggest fibs told by trade deal supporters has been that the deals enhance good governance and the rule of law. There is zero support for that proposition. There is rampant corruption, collusion with drug lords, human rights abuses and other egregious violations in many countries we have bilateral trade…