The Founding Fathers determined that the kings of the past gave up the jewels of the realm in trade deals. They could have written the constitution to give authority over foreign commerce to the executive branch… to the president. But they didn’t. Instead they gave the power to regulate foreign commerce to the legislative branch……
The Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) was passed on October 12, 2011. 278 voted yes and 151 voted no. CPA opposed this bill. The text of the KORUS FTA is here. The GovTrack page is here for more detailed info.
We achieved another incremental victory yesterday. Due in part to the hard work of CPA members and staff, sixty Senators (led by Stabenow (D-MI) and Graham (R-SC)) signed a letter urging that an effective currency enforcement regime be included in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and all future trade agreements. 60 is a really cool…
Reposted from Yes! Magazine. ***** Natalie Pomplilio | August 28th, 2013 | Yes Magazine Michael Stumo, CEO of the advocacy group Coalition for a Prosperous America, said that of the Americans who lose their jobs as a result of the TPP, about one-third will never work again, one-third will find lower paying positions, and only…
The U.S. Postal Service has a new, tasteful video out celebrating American workers and Made in USA products. Bollman Hats, a CPA member, assisted with the production and appears in the credits.
The following is a letter from Rep. Mark Pocan and others to Rep. Sander Levin expressing concern about the TPP and Fast Track Authority. The letter can be found here. June 7, 2013 The Honorable Sander M. LevinRanking MemberWays and Means Committee1106 Longworth House Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20515 Cc: The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Dear Ranking Member…
The following is a letter from Rep. Scott Peters to Rep. Sander Levin expressing concern about the TPP and Fast Track Authority. The letter can be found here. The Honorable Sander M. LevinRanking Member Ways and Means Committee DemocratsI 06 Longworth House Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20515 Dear Ranking Member Levin: I look forward to working with…
The following are the two presentations by Charles Blum, of the Coalition for a Prosperous America and IAS Group and Benjamin Harris of the Urban Brookings Policy Foundation from the presentation: Why Congress Should Consider a Border Adjustable Consumption tax to reduce other taxes as Part of Comprehensive Tax Reform: Presentation by Charles Blum, Coalition for…
In this video, Michael Stumo lays out the full case for U.S. consideration of consumption taxes as a part of comprehensive tax reform, for the purpose of improving our trade balance. The primary purpose is to neutralize the tariff and subsidy impact of foreign VATs, which help cause the U.S. trade deficit. The speech occurred…
Economists will tell you that VATs are trade neutral because any trade advantage is neutralized by currency exchange rates. Indeed, several government studies by GAO and CRS state that currency does so, and cite a paper by Krugman or somebody else from the 1990′s. Of course, we are in a world of global currency wars…
