Below is information on our trade deficit with the 20 Free Trade Agreement countries and a guide explaining how USTR manipulates the trade data to support its outlandish claim that we have a trade surplus with the 20 Free FTA partners. USTR counts foreign-made goods as U.S. exports to artificially inflate export figures and/or removes…
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(Bloomberg) — Sipping coffee at a Starbucks on a tree-lined road in Bothell, Washington, Representative Suzan DelBene finds herself stuck in the middle on international trade policy. [Reposted from Bloomberg Business | Carter Dougherty | March 23, 2015] As a former executive at global software giant Microsoft Corp., just down the road in Redmond, and…
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U.S. Steel Corp. (NYSE:X) may be looking to fund projects in an effort to save jobs in Birmingham, but steel production in China continues at a pace that could make it difficult for Alabama manufacturers to compete. [Reposted from the Birmingham Business Journal | Ryan Phillips | March 20, 2015] Manufacturers face overproduction U.S. Steel…
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Despite his inspirational speeches about helping the middle class, President Obama is poised to outsource more well-paying American jobs and irretrievably subvert our democracy and national sovereignty to corporate interests, by ramming through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Free Trade Agreement. Even scarier, our Congress is poised to give him the right to do so, if…
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Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) on Thursday accused the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) of “baffling” Democrats “with bullshit” in an effort to advance President Obama’s trade agenda. [Reposted from The Hill | Kevin Cirilli | March 19, 2015] Pocan’s remarks, which were triggered by a debate over whether the U.S. enjoys a trade surplus with…
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A trade association linked to the conservative billionaires Charles G. and David H. Koch will begin a new lobbying effort pressuring lawmakers to shut down the Export-Import Bank, a top target of conservative activists and outside groups that will cease to exist after June 30 if it is not reauthorized by Congress. [Reposted from The…
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Bidness Etc looks at why AK Steel stock can be expected to remain in the red on Friday, following the downward revision of 1Q guidance [Reposted from Bidness, Etc. | Michael Kaufman | March 20, 2015] On Thursday, AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS) released guidance for the first quarter of fiscal year 2015 (1QFY15),…
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One aspect of the trade and global governance deals is that other countries, and global courts, tell the US what we can and cannot do. The New Zealand trade minister has now “ramped up the pressure on the U.S. Congress to pass a [fast track] Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill, saying the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)…
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The Bureau of Economic Analysis released its 4th Quarter Report on international transactions. Here is an excerpt showing how goods exports decreased and the trade deficit worsened. Goods and services The deficit on goods and services increased to $127.0 billion in the fourth quarter from$123.9 billion in the third quarter. Goods The…
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Unfair trade deals have lowered the wages of U.S. workers by displacing jobs and weakening the bargaining position of low- and middle-wage workers. President Obama and his predecessors have frequently claimed that free trade agreements (FTAs) and other trade deals would lead to growing exports and domestic job creation. [Reposted from the blog of the…
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