As the Obama administration seeks to Fast Track the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) through Congress over public and congressional opposition, it has resorted to a familiar tactic – promising job gains from the deal on the basis of unfounded assumptions. [Reposted from the Public Citizen blog  |  April 7, 2015] We have repeatedly warned against dubious TPP jobs claims by spotlighting the…

Many homeowners in the United States have been suffering for years from contaminated Chinese home improvement products.  [Reposted from the Made In USA Foundation Newsletter  |  March 2015] Defective drywall was manufactured in China and imported to the United States starting in 2001. Laboratory tests of samples for volatile chemicals identified emissions of the sulfurous…

When 60 Minutes sent investigators undercover to three Chinese factories that produce laminate flooring for Lumber Liquidators, it exposed excessive levels of the cancer-causing chemical formaldehyde in the glue used to bind wood particles that make up the core of the laminated boards. [Reposted from the Made in USA Foundation Newsletter  |  March 2015] It…

Today, the Washington Post fact checker, Glenn Kessler, claimed that Public Citizen’s analysis of the Korean Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) is based on flawed economics and faulty math. Kessler accepts the White House claim that the employment effect of the KORUS should be based only “on a gain in merchandise exports,” and then claims that…

Advances in additive manufacturing and 3D printing are occurring so rapidly that there is now a daily newsletter on 3D printing for which I recently subscribed. Design News, Industry Week, Manufacturing.net, and many other publications are also publishing frequent articles on additive manufacturing, and most trade shows are now scheduling one or more sessions related…

Ron Wyden is getting pressure from Intel and Nike to approve fast track. But also (supposedly) blueberry growers. Which doesn’t make sense. This article in the Wall Street Journal reports on how the anti-Fast Track forces are trying to convince Senator Wyden (D-OR) to oppose making a deal with Senator Orrin Hatch. But I was…

One week ago, the Seattle City Council voted to approve a resolution opposing Fast Track.  That resolution can be found here.  In addition, CPA wrote a letter to the City Council to support the resolution.  We received an email back in response, cut and pasted below. Thanks again to the Seattle City Council for opposing…

U.S. and Japanese negotiators are rushing to complete a trade agreement they can unveil during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Washington later this month, something they hope will pave the way for a broader Asia-Pacific pact involving 10 other countries. [Reposted from Bloomberg  |  Carter Dougherty  |  April 1, 2015] An accord between the…

Canada’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiation is at risk because it has “declined to seriously engage” in talks about opening up its dairy, poultry and egg industries, according to the U.S. government’s chief agricultural negotiator, the National Post reported (see related report this issue). Ambassador Darci Vetter said the choice on whether to…

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) — and the rigged “Fast Track” process designed to pass it before the public has a chance to react — has become a new “third rail” for progressives and the activist Democratic “base.” (This is also true on the right, by the way.) Clinton is the number one candidate for president,…