To persuade Congress to give him authority for concluding negotiation of a proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement, President Obama is emphasizing that such an undertaking is essential to national security. [by Clyde Prestowitz | April 29, 2015 | The Hill] The appeal to patriotism is always powerful, but in this instance…
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Ty Cobb was a famous baseball player. Infamous, really. He set 90 Major League baseball records, some of which continue today. He was skillful but also mean; he had a reputation for playing dirty. Cobb was known for spiking other players: sharpening his cleats and sliding into them. Nobody much liked playing against him.…
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Democratic Senator Robert Menendez said on Monday he would strongly resist any attempt to override a human-trafficking amendment to trade legislation that some say could derail a Pacific trade pact. [Reposted from Reuters | Richard Cowan; Krista Hughes; Leslie Adler | April 28, 2015] The amendment, approved by the Senate Finance…
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Obama and GOP leaders intensify push to win votes after warning that support in the House may be lacking [Reposted from the Wall Street Journal | William Mauldin and Siobhan Hughes | April 30, 2015] President Barack Obama and Republican leaders intensified their push Thursday to win votes for major trade legislation after lawmakers warned…
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President Obama will hit the road next week to push his trade agenda during a visit to Nike’s headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. [Reposted from The Hill | Jordan Fabian | April 30, 2015] Obama will urge Congress to pass a trade promotion authority (TPA) bill, an important step in finalizing a sweeping trade agreement with…
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For many liberal critics, the problem with the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal isn’t simply the worry that it could lead to more job loss by exposing American manufacturing to more import competition. Rather, they assert that the TPP is in many ways not even a trade agreement: Its real offense is in the areas of…
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The House is currently dozens of votes short of being able to pass legislation that would allow President Barack Obama to send trade deals to Congress for fast approval, according to senior lawmakers and aides in both parties, imperiling a top White House priority for the president’s final years in office. [Reposted from Politico | …
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Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) on Tuesday (April 28) said he and many other Democrats want to see the three trade bills that passed out of the Finance Committee along with legislation to reauthorize fast-track move together on the floor, but that he is not clear that this is the majority’s plan. [Reposted from Inside US…
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The trade deficit caused first quarter US GDP growth to be basically zero – specifically 0.2%. Exports were down 7.2% while imports were up 1.8%. The Bureau of Economic Analysis news release says: The increase in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE) and private inventory investment…
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John Hansen is president of the Nebraska Farmers Union and served as a U.S. Trade Representative trade adviser for three administrations for 14 years starting in 1994. He also sits on the Board of the Coalition for a Prosperous America. Reposted from the Omaha Daily Herald | John Hansen | April 29, 2015] The House…
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