"If we increase the number of H-1B visas that are available to U.S. companies, employment of U.S. nationals would likely grow as well. For instance, Microsoft has found that for every H-1B hire we make, we add on average four additional employees to support them in various capacities."
Bill Gates,
Testimony before the Committee on Science and Technology, US House of Representatives,
March 12, 2008.
Oct 8, 2008
New Vision, Uganda -- "Reforms are already paying dividends for countries rich and poor but there is scope for greater improvement still."
Oct 7, 2008 The Christian Science Monitor -- "Trade is one of the bright spots for the US economy right now."
Sep 22, 2008 Afrik.com, France -- "Les réformes payent déjà, pour les riches et pour les pauvres, mais il reste toujours des opportunités d’améliorer considérablement les choses en matière de facilitation du commerce."
Sep 15, 2008 New York Sun -- "We know the auto industry feels somewhat emboldened to come to Washington and ask for subsidies."
Sep 13, 2008 New York Times -- Florida Crystals and U.S. Sugar "have been absolutely extorting consumers for decades, and the only reason they’re existing in the first place is, they were able to get sweet deals from governments that were propping them up."
Sep 2, 2008 OC Register -- "America's changes will be less than we think. We've already become a more open, dynamic country. What will happen to America is what has already been happening to California, Texas, New York City, and other economically successful regions."
Aug 28, 2008 Workforce Management, Ca -- But crimping trade is a bad idea for U.S. manufacturers and their employees. U.S. manufacturers have been achieving record exports, and the loss of jobs in the sector has slowed. U.S. manufacturing wages have been relatively stagnant, but overall compensation—including health care benefits—is rising.
Aug 27, 2008 The National, United Arab Emirates -- In the wake of Doha, countries are asking, ‘What next?’ Bilaterals seem to be the only game in town. The growth in bilaterals showed the US policy of competitive liberalisation, giving impetus to the Doha talks by simultaneously seeking bilateral deals, had backfired. It didn’t have the intended effect. Other World Trade Organisation members said, ‘We can play this game, too.’ So, off went Japan and China and Thailand and Australia, and now Europe and India, pursuing their own bilaterals.
Aug 11, 2008 Washington Times, DC and iStockAnalyst.com, OR-- "On trade, there is a stark distinction between the two candidates." Mr. Obama is "firmly in favor of government intervention," while Sen. John McCain "has an excellent and consistent record" supporting free trade.
Aug 8, 2008 NewsBlaze, CA -- Countries with inadequate trade infrastructure, burdensome administrative processes or limited competition in trade logistics services are less capable of benefiting from the opportunities of expanding global trade. "Man-made" barriers to trade have the same effects as "natural" barriers, such as distance, marshes, rivers and bad roads.
Too many frictions related to document processing or cargo inspection at customs, antiquated port facilities, logistics bottlenecks, or limited reliability of freight or trade-financing services deter companies from investing, buying or selling in local markets.
Aug 6, 2008 Clovis News Journal, NM -- While the Doha Round of talks under the World Trade Organization — which began in 2001 — were stagnating and eventually failing, hundreds of countries around the world have reduced tariffs and administrative barriers to freer trade.
Aug 5, 2008 Colorado Springs Gazette, CO -- "In a just-in-time world, countries are competing for investment and talent, so they need to be fairly frictionless."
Aug 4, 2008 Kiplinger.com, DC -- "The question is, who would be interested in signing trade promotion authority agreements? The list would be very small."
July 20, 2008 MediaGlobal, NY -- "In Africa tariff barriers remain high against agricultural products and manufactured goods such as clothes and shoes. These barriers remain not only in rich countries, but in African countries as well."
DesMoinesRegister.com, IA -- The negotiations may well be doomed before they start because of the reluctance of countries like India to open their markets and the resistance of U.S. and European farmers to cut subsidies. "Unfortunately, the commodity groups don't have much to worry about."
July 19, 2008 NewsBlaze, CA -- Trade facilitation, an issue that has not received the attention it deserves, would increase global commerce more than tariff reductions at this point. "If you turn on the water, that is reducing tariffs. If you turn the spigot on all the way, that is zero tariffs. But if your hose is kinked up and tangled, you're not going to get that water flow. Trade facilitation is about unkinking that hose. It's just as important - if not more important - than tariff liberalization."
July 10, 2008 WSAV-TV, GA and Media General Washington Bureau, DC -- "There's a stark contrast between the two major presidential candidates on trade, probably the starkest we've seen in decades. McCain is an unabashed free trader. Obama has a much more skeptical view about trade liberalization."
July 6, 2008 Christian Science Monitor, MA -- "Government actions around the world have added to the problem – from rich country trade barriers to export controls [recently imposed] by food-producing countries" in the developing world.
July 3, 2008 AllBusiness, CA -- More than 230,000 businesses with 500 employees or fewer (the government's definition of a small business) now account for 30 percent of U.S. exports, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "This growth has been propelled not only by the expansion of global trade generally, but also by technological developments especially favorable to smaller exporters. On the cutting edge of this development has been the spread of the Internet and e-commerce."
June 25, 2008 CNSNews.com, VA -- "Trade and travel, not sanctions, are the best way to encourage change in Cuba. The change in leadership in Cuba and the modest reforms underway there provide an opportunity for the United States to allow more commercial contact between the American and Cuban people."
June 20, 2008 Like tariff cuts, improvements in trade facilitation procedures can help reduce the cost of trade and increase its flow. A 2004 United Nations study revealed burdensome processes in developing countries, where the average customs transaction involves 20 to 30 parties and requires 40 separate documents to complete. A 2004 World bank study of 75 countries found that if “below average” performances on a compilation of four broad trade facilitation indices were able to raise their scores “halfway to the average” score for all 75 countries, world trade would increase by $377 billion, or about 9% per year. Ag Weekly, ID -- McCain’s position on trade "isn’t going to win him a big chunk of votes, but it isn’t going to lose him votes either. People talk a lot about trade, they have a lot of opinions, but it doesn’t seem to sway many votes." If McCain is persuasive about the broader economic impact of pulling back from trade agreements, voters may see Obama’s earlier position as "irresponsible." Guardian.co.uk, UK and Forbes.com -- "An Obama administration would be under tremendous pressure to change direction on China. I think you would see fewer of these types of constructive meetings." Heritage.org, DC -- Countries both rich and poor can still realize gains from increased trade by reforming their trading systems. Called ‘trade facilitation’ these reforms include “improving the chain of administrative and physical procedures involved in the transport of goods and services across international borders.” Ikenson writes:
June 19, 2008 Los Angeles Times, CA -- McCain's position on trade "isn't going to win him a big chunk of votes, but it isn't going to lose him votes either. People talk a lot about trade. They have a lot of opinions, but it doesn't seem to sway many votes." BusinessWeek -- "U.S. manufacturing just needs what every other sector needs—an improved environment for doing business."
June 13, 2008 Investor's Business Daily -- "The difference between the two major parties' candidates is as stark as it's been for decades.”
June 12, 2008 Examiner.com -- China is America’s third-largest trading partner, after Canada and the European Union, and a major buyer of U.S. bonds, giving it an important role that makes it both a vital economic ally and an attractive target for criticism. "On the whole our relations with China are productive and improving … but there are some real issues we have to work through. ... It's always better talking with the Chinese than making threats."
June 3, 2008 Wall Street Journal Blogs, NY -- Obama "has been talking about redistributive policies that raise eyebrows in the business community and among asset holders generally. The formula has always been to come to the center for the general election."
June 2, 2008 Financial Post, Canada -- Luther Markwart, the chairman of the American Sugar Alliance, was a driving force behind one of the sweetest feats of protectionism ever to come out of Washington, probably the world. Markwart managed to clinch an agreement that guarantees U. S. producers 85% of the domestic U. S. sugar market, part of a U. S. farm bill that passed last month. There are only 146,000 people involved in the entire U. S. sugar industry. The farm bill, enacted by Congress over a presidential veto, is a US$300-billion extravaganza of protectionist insanity that increases farm spending by $20-billion at a time of record crop prices and income. Is the agreement even legal?
May 25, 2008 DesMoinesRegister, IA -- Surprisingly the farm bill includes little reform, given that it was written in a time of soaring commodity prices and a slowing economy. "It makes me wonder what it will take," James said. "What conditions will need to be replaced before these programs get reformed?"
May 20, 2008 Pioneer Press, MN -- The new sugar program is "an abomination. Basically, what it does is add taxpayer insult to consumer injury."
May 19, 2008 National Review Online, NY -- Bob Barr voted with protectionists to secure the interests of cotton farmers and the textile industry in his district.
May 18, 2008 Yuma Sun, AZ -- Eliminating the ethanol subsidy program wouldn't solve the world food crisis in a stroke, but it would make a significant contribution.
The next most constructive thing the United States could do would be to eliminate its agricultural price-support program, which would untangle stalled trade negotiations (and reduce prices) and end tariffs and import controls on rice, dairy and sugar – all politically unlikely.
May 16, 2008 Baltimore Sun -- The new sugar program is "in direct violation of the World Trade Organization rules."
May 14, 2008 The Weekly Standard -- "Vietnam is racing to be more like the United States every day." In recent years, its fast-growing information technology sector has played a key role in luring foreign capital and spurring further liberalization.
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May 6, 2008 "We've tried enforcement and it's failed," economist Daniel T. Griswold told the World Affairs Council of Greater Richmond yesterday. To solve the illegal-immigration problem, America must recognize that the country needs more workers than it can supply itself, the think-tank expert says.
Migrants enter the country illegally because there are low-skilled jobs waiting for them to fill, said Griswold, who is with the libertarian Cato Institute in Washington. At the same time, the number of Americans who used to fill many of those jobs -- people without high school diplomas -- has declined by 4.6 million during the past decade as the typical U.S. worker grows older and better educated. |
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As many as 12 million people may be living illegally in the United States. The U.S. immigration system simply does not offer enough channels for immigrants to enter the country legally and fill the gap between the demand for labor and the supply of workers, he said. "So they come in illegally," Griswold said, though the idea of getting rid of them is unrealistic: "We're not going to be able to deport 12 million people." Secure borders are, however, crucial, he said: "We've got to have border enforcement so terrorists and criminals can't come in." A program enabling foreigners to work temporarily in this country would resolve the crisis, Griswold said, a provision notably missing from the U.S.' 1986 attempt to reform immigration. That measure overlooked the fact that low-skilled workers play a vital and legitimate role in the American economy, he said. If foreign-born workers are allowed to take a legal, safe and orderly path into the U.S., Griswold said, the number choosing the dangers and expenses of jumping the border will drop sharply. "These workers may be poorly educated," he said, "but they aren't dumb." They should not be granted permanent legal status automatically, he said. Undocumented workers would have to pay fines and back taxes as part of their legalization. But those penalties can't be so onerous, Griswold said, that millions of illegal workers decide it makes more sense for them to remain in the underground U.S. labor market. May 4, 2008 May 3, 2008 Dallas Morning News, TX-- "Our laws should match the reality of a dynamic society and labor market." Inquirer.net, Philippines -- In addition to three different subsidies for rice farmers in the United States, there are also direct tariff barriers of 3 to 24 percent—the same type of protection, though much higher, that the United States and the IMF required Haiti to eliminate in the 1980s and 1990s.
April 29, 2008 Christian Today -- "I'd be very surprised if there was any kind of dramatic breakthrough on Doha this year, and I have the same short-term pessimism on bilateral deals before Congress."
April 27, 2008 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI -- "There were a lot of great ideas on the reform side." But in the end, reformers could not compete with farmers who wanted to keep the current system in place. The farm subsidy lobby is absolutely up there with pharmaceuticals and the oil industry as far as how powerful they are."
April 25, 2008 Heritage.org -- Contrary to the rhetoric of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama — and CNN’s Lou Dobbs, for that matter — free trade continues to greatly benefit American workers.
That was some of the good news from Heritage’s Resource Bank meeting this morning as Ambassador Terry Miller, who directs our Center for International Trade and Economics, moderated a panel on trade. Other experts included CATO Institute’s Daniel Griswold, the IMANI Center for Policy & Education’s Franklin Cudjoe and the Dominican Republic Center for Export and Investment’s Eddy Martinez.
Griswold, who has faced down Dobbs on air, passed around a fact sheet that’s well worth sharing. Check out these facts:
April 24, 2008 Marketplace, CA -- Farming is not what it used to be. It is no longer just a family farm environment. It's big companies. It's much larger farms, run on a much more commercial cut-throat basis.
For one thing, commodities have become a much more attractive investment as demand has soared. And the subsidies Congress is handing out are making those commodities even more lucrative. Plus, they're making farmers richer. And analysts say that means they'll buy more equipment, fertilizer, and seeds. So Wall Street is eyeing investments in agribusiness, machinery, and biofuels.
There's more to the farm bill than subsidies. The provisions they're putting in the farm bill this time in order to get support for it from the Senate are tax provisions that might be of interest to investors. One proposal would create a new tax deduction for timber companies. The Wall Street Journal reports that could save paper maker Weyerhauser $100 million a year. And the bottom line is, whatever gets in the bill is likely to pass because of the Christmas tree of goodies for members right and left. There's a fairly strong bipartisan support behind this bill which makes it a little bit different from some others. President Bush says he's ready to veto the bill, without some significant spending cuts. But some here are already starting to doubt that pledge.
April 21, 2008 Investor's Business Daily -- A shrinking, battered middle class forced to take low-paying McJobs is a myth. Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers show that "the country's lost a net 3.3 million manufacturing jobs in the past decade — but it's added a net 11.6 million jobs in service and other sectors where average wages are higher than in manufacturing."
Scoop.co.nz, New Zealand -- rice is one of the most heavily supported commodities in the US - with three different subsidies together averaging over $1 billion a year since 1998 and projected to average over $700 million a year through 2015. The result? "Tens of millions of rice farmers in poor countries find it hard to lift their families out of poverty because of the lower, more volatile prices caused by the interventionist policies of other countries."
In addition to three different subsidies for rice farmers in the US, there are also direct tariff barriers of three to 24 percent - the exact same type of protections, though much higher, that the US and the IMF required Haiti to eliminate in the 1980s and 1990s.
April 18, 2008 Trading Markets-- Eliminating the ethanol subsidy program wouldn't solve the world food crisis in a stroke, but it would make a significant contribution.
April 16, 2008 Arkansas Democrat Gazette, AR-- The group’s farm-subsidy database has played a pivotal role in the policy debates surrounding U. S. agricultural policy.
“I’m lobbying for [Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group ] to get a public service medal,” James said. “I can’t think of anything that’s been done in the public policy arena in the last 20 years that has had as much of an impact as this seemingly simple Freedom of Information request.”
Globe and Mail, Canada-- “A worsening deficit is typically associated with faster economic growth, and an improving deficit with slower growth.” There is no evidence that an expanding deficit was ever associated with slower economic growth.
Griswold identified eight years since 1982 when the U.S. current account deficit fell (“improved”) as a percentage of GDP; 10 years in which the deficit increased (“worsened”) by less than 0.5 per cent of GDP; and eight years in which the deficit increased (“much worsened”) by more than 0.5 per cent of GDP. He found that:
April 13, 2008 The State, SC -- U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham's voting record has been quite a bit less friendly to trade than the typical Republican in Congress.
April 11, 2008 San Francisco Chronicle -- More trade is the best deal for America. "The middle class is better off than it was 10 or 20 years ago." Current jitters can be attributed to "a rough patch" in the economy.
April 10, 2008 Washington Times, DC -- "President Bush announced Monday that he will send the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement to Congress for a vote. It was a bold decision and the right one. Whatever the outcome, the vote will be a defining moment for U.S. trade policy."
April 6, 2008 Foster's Daily Democrat, NH -- U.S. anti-dumping laws, which have been on the books since the 1920s, have a "whiff of hypocrisy." China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Argentina modeled anti-dumping laws after the U.S. statutes. As a result, U.S. companies sometimes get burned overseas by the same laws that protect them at home. There is no surprise that the Japanese government passed a claw back law and said it shows how vulnerable U.S. companies can be if they have plants overseas.
April 4, 2008 Dallas Morning News, TX -- Illegal immigrants are crossing the border because U.S. business has an ongoing demand for cheap labor. Building a border fence won't ease that demand. But a guest-worker program that allows immigrants to enter legally would do a far better job than a fence in reducing illegal crossings.
It would ensure that employers have access to the labor they need. And tougher workplace enforcement, coupled with measures giving existing illegal immigrants a pathway to regularization, would provide stronger incentives for all to comply with the law.
Although the average real hourly wage paid to American workers is lower today than in the 1970s, says Griswold, average real hourly compensation, which includes benefits such as health care and 401(k) contributions, has gone up: National Center for Policy Analysis, TX -- The next time you hear a U.S. politician or pundit lament that "average real hourly wages" have declined, don't be misled. The average real wage is a fundamentally flawed measure of the well-being and progress of American workers for three reasons. For example:
April 2, 2008 Dallas Morning News, TX -- We should consider the economic influence of illegals when we tally up the costs of illegal immigration.
Wall Street Journal Blogs, NY -- “If a tougher stance means using the WTO Dispute Settlement Body [DSB] more systematically to achieve greater Chinese compliance with the vast obligations to which China agreed upon joining the WTO in 2001, the answer is ‘yes.’ If it means supporting or encouraging provocative legislation or taking unilateral administrative actions to compel or punish China in a manner that would violate our own WTO obligations or would benefit a few litigious industries at the expense of broader economic interests, the answer is ‘no.’”
March 28, 2008 Marketplace, CA -- Just from a simple economic justice point of view, it's very troubling that US farmers are raking up to $2.5 million in subsidies.
March 25, 2008 Crosswalk.com, VA and CNSNews.com, VA -- As there is "no evidence" of wage suppression the cap on H-1B visas is "silly."
"U.S. high-tech workers continue to earn very competitive, attractive salaries. It's just that U.S. companies literally can't find the workers they need. The current cap is ridiculously low and is impeding America's ability to compete in the global high-tech economy. Raising the H-1B cap would allow American companies to hire the workers they need to meet the demands of a global marketplace. If U.S. workers can't hire the workers they need here at home, they will have greater incentives to move their production facilities abroad. We are already seeing that -- Microsoft has located a facility in Vancouver, Canada because it's easier to hire the people they need. Other companies will look more seriously at locating facilities in India and Ireland and elsewhere."
There is "no evidence that issuing more H-1B visas has any effect on U.S. employment. In fact, the evidence is that H-1B workers create employment for Americans. For every one hired, U.S. companies tend to hire other Americans to work with the H-1B workers. So, hiring H-1B workers helps U.S. companies keep production in the United States. In the late 1990s, U.S. companies were making full use of H-1B visas and yet employment was growing. When there isn't demand, companies don't seek H-1B visas."
March 21, 2008 Council on Foreign Relations, NY -- Job losses are "part of a structural shift of the U.S. economy" away from a focus on heavy manufacturing and toward a focus on light manufacturing and high-end services. “It’s a cruel illusion to say if we just go in and tinker with NAFTA there will be some kind of industrial renaissance."
March 17, 2008 Connecticut Business News Journal, CT -- Debunking anti-free traders' claim that "deindustrialization" means the jobs available to ex-factory workers are low-paid positions in malls and fast-food joints: "Of the five employment categories that saw the most U.S. job growth between 1997 and 2007, four paid slightly higher average wages than manufacturing. Positions in construction, professional/business services, finance, and education/health services all pay wages that surpass manufacturing's average of $17.12 an hour."
Chicago Tribune and Truth about Trade & Technology, IA -- Since 2004, exports have recovered and losses of manufacturing jobs have slowed to about 100,000 a year.
March 7, 2008 Crosswalk.com, VA -- The cost for illegal immigration is a heavy and unnecessary burden on local communities. "It is a lot of money for these local communities. County officials should be out there catching local criminals. Instead they are chasing down people who are coming to be construction workers and dishwashers and maids."
Griswold likens our current immigration laws to the historical outlawing of alcoholic beverages in the United States. "Like prohibition in the 1930s, current border laws have spawned an underworld of crime, smuggling and document crime. That's where the violence comes in. If we had reform, we would see a drastic reduction in smuggling."
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March 4, 2008 March 3, 2008 |
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More important than NAFTA in the loss of some manufacturing jobs, some economists say, is computerization that makes factories far more efficient, such as at this steel mill in Cleveland. |
March 2, 2008 Worcester Telegram, MA -- “The embargo reinforced [Fidel Castro’s] grip on power for giving him an excuse for his economic failures.”
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February 29, 2008 Farm Bill will get through Congress. The only question is how expensive it will be and whether there will be tax increases or cuts elsewhere to pay for it. |
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February 28, 2008 Exchange Morning Post, Canada -- Increased trade has not lowered American living standards. The economy has 16.5 million more people working today than 10 years ago. Although there has been about a 3.3 million job loss in manufacturing over the past decade, there has been a net gain of 11.6 million jobs in sectors with higher average wages than in manufacturing. And many of those manufacturing jobs have disappeared not because of trade, but because of technological advances and productivity improvements.
Toronto Star, Canada -- "Both Democratic candidates are peddling a cruel illusion on trade. They raise the false hope that tinkering with a 14-year-old trade agreement will somehow bring an industrial renaissance to Youngstown, Ohio, and other industrial cities.''
February 26, 2008 National Review Online, NY -- It’s an odd time to demonize NAFTA. U.S. manufacturing went through a deep recession from 2000 to 2003, shedding 3 million jobs. It has recovered since, and 2006 was “a record year for output, revenues, profits, profit rates and return on investment.”
National Review Online, NY -- Unemployment has remained low since the advances in trade liberalization made during the 1990s. Many people blame trade for stagnant wages, but the real culprit is the rising cost of health care—and trade is not responsible for that. Trade has, indeed, helped: It has enabled the U.S. economy to shift more resources into high-paying jobs, and more people are prosperous today as a result.
February 25, 2008 Waterbury Republican American, CT -- "Youngstown, Ohio's problems have nothing to do with NAFTA. The real story in manufacturing isn't trade, it is technology.
"We're producing 40-50 percent more stuff than we did before NAFTA. We're just doing it with fewer workers. ... NAFTA has probably accelerated that trend to a higher level of manufacturing, but that's been one of the successes of the agreement, not one of the problems."
February 22, 2008 Reuters -- "Barack Obama and Mrs. Clinton are selling an illusion. The idea that the leaders of Canada and Mexico would sit down with the U.S. and rewrite this agreement is really a fantasy."
February 16, 2008 Globe and Mail, Canada -- "We have the possibility of a major-party candidate winning on a trade-skeptic platform."
There are a couple of reasons why the anti-free-trade message is resonating. Important Democratic constituencies, such as labour unions, have hardened their opposition to trade deals - so in a close primary, where every delegate counts, they are pandered to. But it is broader than that. The U.S. economy is shakier than it has been in any presidential election year since '92. Leaving aside his geographical malapropism - Mexico isn't exactly "overseas" - Mr. Obama's words tap into a deep concern among American workers that trade deals export the good jobs, leaving them to scrape the grease off the grill at Wendy's.
The problem is that it doesn't quite fit the facts. Mr. Griswold's study of the data found that trade liberalization has had little impact on the number of U.S. jobs (the unemployment rate is slightly lower now than when NAFTA came into effect), but actually helped improve the quality of those jobs. Stories of middle-class stagnation might work in stump speeches, but the numbers say otherwise: In the past decade, the average hourly pay for American workers - if you include benefits - is up 22 per cent in real terms (i.e., adjusted for inflation), he says. The median household income was also up, though not as sharply.
What about inequality? "We can't keep driving a wider and wider gap between the few who are rich and the rest who struggle to keep pace," Mr. Obama says, and who could argue with that? The sentiment is powerful, but again, it is more myth than fact. About one-third of American households report a middle-class income of $35,000 (U.S.) to $75,000 - virtually unchanged in 10 years, Mr. Griswold says (all figures in inflation-adjusted 2006 dollars). But there are fewer people earning less than $35,000 and more making $75,000. The American middle class is not shrinking, he says, "but moving up."
Those same trends extend to America's primary trading partners, especially developing nations. The number of people living on less than $1 a day declined by more than 130 million between 1994 and 2004. "We're seeing it around the world - declining poverty, declining rates of child labour, rising literacy rates," Mr. Griswold says. Free trade is the engine of that change; the world needs more of it, not less. This is one time when you've got to hope the politicians really are just blowing hot air.
February 5, 2008 PocketFives -- What are the implications of the global free trade ramifications of the Remote Gambling Association’s recent complaint lodged with the European Commission claiming discrimination by the U.S.?
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February 4, 2008 Actually, the stimulus package, in its present form, would not even spark economic activity in a meaningful way. Even if Americans only bought more domestically made products with their rebate checks, it still wouldn't prompt U.S. companies to increase their output and investment. That's because "suppliers know that the uptick in demand is just a short-term response by consumers." |
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CNSNews.com, VA -- "The federal government should abandon its protection of U.S. farmers from competition and its pursuit of a misguided biofuels policy whose environmental benefits are spurious at best. Politicians especially keen to 'stimulate' the economy by putting more money in the hands of consumers should start by reducing the taxes on imported dairy products, sugar, rice, and ethanol."
January 29, 2008
Christian Science Monitor, MA and AXcess News, KY -- "Remittances are the best kind of foreign aid we've got. It goes family to family with minimal cut by middlemen."
January 24, 2008 U.S. News & World Report -- "The ethanol industry is hogging more and more of the corn supply, and that is squeezing ranchers and dairy farmers."
January 17, 2008 International Trade Reporter -- There is a less than 50-50 chance that the Colombia ITA would be considered in 2008. "Unfortunately, the agreement is caught up in constituent politics."
The fate of the Panama pact hinges on developmentswith Gonzalez-Pinzon. Given the long historical ties between the United States and Panama,the Panamaagreement should be the easiest one of the threepending ITAs to approveif the issueof Gonzalez-Pinzon is resolved, he commented. "Until that is resolved, it's going to be in limbo."
International Trade Reporter -- The outlook for TPA in 2008 "is not bright. This Congress is in no mood to expand the authority of President Bush. The Democratic leadership is under tremendous pressure from its organized labor constituents not to move ahead on trade liberalization." Absent the WTO pact, or any other agreement to be negotiated, "it's hard to imagine TPA being renewed."
January 15, 2008 The Market Oracle, UK -- The current account deficit was mainly due to foreign savings flooding into the US because of its stable and relatively free domestic market.
January 4, 2008 Reason Online, CA -- "Mitt Romney joins a growing list of politicians who have failed to ride the immigration issue to success when it counts."
January 3, 2008 International Trade Reporter -- "In an analysis of the relationship between trade and American jobs, it is important to look not only at workers' wages, but at a measure that incorporates the cost of workers' benefits as well, and to use accurate cost-of-living data that are not overstated in terms of inflation. It is also necessary to consider comparable points in the economy's business cycle."
Despite Doha collapse, free trade is marching on
Bad Trade
Expanding trade is a key to winning presidency
Congratulations Paul Krugman
by Michael F. Cannon
October 13, 2008
On Krugman's Nobel
by Sallie James
October 13, 2008
All That and a 30-cent Mojito
by Jason Kuznicki
October 7, 2008
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