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With little attention from mainstream media, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with the foreign ministers of Canada and Mexico in a North American Foreign Ministers Meeting in Quebec, Canada. The Dec. 13 meeting is a prelude to the next North American Summit Leaders meeting in 2011, a yet unscheduled trilateral summit that is the continuation of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America. Under the low-key format, the continental meetings have been carried out with little fanfare and outside of congressional oversight.

President Obama finally spoke out in favor of "free" trade last week, though his version of free trade is one that only a mercantilist would recognize. Speaking at the Export-Import Bank's annual conference, Mr. Obama said an "obstacle that our exporters face is that the federal government frankly just hasn't done a good enough job advocating for them abroad." Like everything with this administration, you see, the private sector just needs more government intervention, and things will be all right. In launching his National Export Initiative, Mr. Obama talked about the need to "marshal the full resources of the United...

This poster doesn't get it. Conservatives are so consistently, so often, so very right. So clearly. About so many things!! Why is it, so many are so blind to what is happening to our nation, as a result of our historically STUPID trade policies? Is it that conservativism is by definition a resistance to too much change, and that "free trade" was a cherished belief for so long there's simply a resistence to noticing it's become dangerous?

Andy Xie: China Better Open Up Its Economy Fast, Else An Obama Trade War Will Crush It Vincent Fernando | Feb. 10, 2010, 5:12 AM | 531 | comment 4 Andy Xie issues a stark warning for China in a latest Caing opinion piece. Essentially, America's major hope for recovery and job growth right now lies in growing its exports since the Fed can't slash rates much lower, and American government is completely grid-locked by politics (thus can't do much for the domestic economy). Thus he expects an increasingly aggressive stance from the Obama administration on U.S. - China trade....

That sounds dramatic - even drastic. But is it? There's an argument raised over at "Washington's Blog" that the real cause of all the financial problems -the global mess - is the WTO: On March 1, 1999, countries accounting for more than 90 per cent of the global financial services market signed onto the World Trade Organization's Financial Services Agreement (FSA). By signing the FSA, they committed to deregulate their financial markets. But let's be straight here. "Deregulate" does not give license to fraud, even though there are some who would argue otherwise. The root issue with all of these...

With the Christmas season and its promise of "Peace on earth, goodwill toward men" upon us, and protectionist sentiment stirring in Washington, it is appropriate to revisit the question of whether free trade promotes world peace. Advocates of free trade have long argued that its benefits are not merely economic. Free trade also encourages people and nations to live in peace with one another. Free trade raises the cost of war by making nations more economically interdependent. Free trade makes it more profitable for people of one nation to produce goods and services for people of another nation than to...

Even his allies feel let down by the president’s lack of progress both in Asia and at home. even one previously friendly newspaper noted dismissively: “Obama goes to China, brings home a T-shirt.” Nor was the steady decline in the president’s approval ratings ... The real problem may be Obama’s friends — or rather, those among his formerly most enthusiastic supporters who are now having second thoughts. The doubters are suddenly stretching across a broad section of the Democratic party’s natural constituency. ... anti-war liberals depressed by the debate over troops for Afghanistan; and growing numbers of blue-collar workers who...

Facing rising unemployment and slipping poll numbers, Obama assured the public that creating new jobs...

Obama to Warn Asia Against Relying on U.S. Consumers By JONATHAN WEISMAN and YUKA HAYASHI [President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama at a press conference in Tokyo on Friday.] AFP/Getty Images President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama hold a press conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on Friday. TOKYO -- President Barack Obama has come halfway around the world to personally deliver the message to East Asia that the global economy can no longer count on the U.S. consumer to keep it afloat. In what White House aides call a "major...

The new World Trade Center, now under construction, is often considered a symbol of American enterprise. But to some union members and U.S. businesses, it represents what's wrong with the nation's economy. The contract to manufacture the blast-resistant glass wrapping the main tower's first 20 stories was awarded earlier this year to a Chinese firm that underbid U.S. competitors. Now the trade tensions between the United States and China that have arisen recently over tires, steel and paper are spreading to glass. "This new tower is going to be made out of subsidized Chinese glass, putting factory workers out of...

<p>1 - Based on GDP, “the recession is over, we’re back to a world of growth”</p> <p>2 - But, “the jobs picture is continuing to deteriorate. The recession may be over, but the bad times are nowhere near over.”</p> <p>3 - “This could be bad. Financial crises tend to produce prolonged hits to growth…and this is the mother of all synchronized financial crises so we almost certainly have a long, long slog before we’re fully recovered.”</p>

Trade: Colombia got another brushoff Tuesday, when Commerce Secretary Gary Locke pronounced its free trade pact dead for the year because Washington is too busy with health care. Why doesn't Cuba ever hear that? Speaking at the sidelines of a conference in Chile, Locke told Dow Jones: "It's pretty doubtful that the pact will be ratified this year, although the Obama administration is pushing forward with Colombia, Korea and Panama." Yeah, sure. Pushing and pushing, it's all we've heard about from this crew. But the only visible moves on trade have a string of protectionist measures to make Big Labor...

When it comes to free markets, Obama's message is mixed. The G-20 summit is a chance to provide some clarity. President Obama is in favor of free trade. Except when he isn't. Free trade creates jobs and lowers prices, as he freely acknowledges. But he also insists that American workers must be shielded from foreign labor practices that threaten job security. During the presidential campaign, Obama indicated that he was open to renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, even as an advisor quietly reassured Canadian officials that he wouldn't tamper with free trade on the North American continent. Nine...

Continued concerns about Chinese products being sold in the U.S. now include poultry. Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor was recognized in Washington today for his work on an agriculture appropriations bill that focuses on the use of appropriated funds from the Department of Agriculture for potential imports of poultry products from China. "Food safety and trade are not mutually exclusive, and are in fact very important to the economy of Arkansas. We can have both as long as the USDA can do its job of policing imports to make sure they meet our food safety standards. Our agreement enables the government...

Explaining Two Trade Busts: Output VS. Trade Costs In The Great Depression And Today Douglas L. Campbell David Jacks Christopher M. Meissner Dennis Novy 19 September 2009 Trade has declined massively during the crisis. This column assesses the relative roles of falling demand and rising trade costs in explaining the collapse and compares it to the Great Depression. Surprising, the increase in trade costs today is as large as in 1929, despite the absence of any modern protectionism resembling Smoot-Hawley. It appears that reviving global demand alone will be insufficient to revive world trade. If the world economy is now...

We've entered an era of decreasing global commerce. "The smell of trade war is suddenly in the air," The Wall Street Journal stated on Monday. Perhaps America's premier business newspaper is correct, but something far more momentous is now occurring. The Journal, of course, was referring to the brewing conflict between Washington and Beijing. Friday evening, President Barack Obama accepted the recommendation of the U.S. International Trade Commission and imposed Section 421 tariffs on Chinese tires. China, in its World Trade Organization accession protocol, agreed that the United States could collect transitional tariffs on Chinese goods to minimize injury to...

A new tariff on tires produced in China could shift prices for inexpensive rubber into overdrive. "It changes the market for cheap tires," said Bruce Harrison, an automotive industry analyst at IHS Global Insight, a Boston-area economic forecasting firm. "We're going to see almost immediate price increases at the bottom end of the market." President Barack Obama announced last Friday the U.S. would levy steep tariffs on Chinese-manufactured tires in response to pressure from the United Steelworkers union, which represents workers at U.S. tire plants. The union argued cheap Chinese imports decrease U.S. tire production and create job losses. Retailers...

Trade: President Obama has fired the opening salvo in a trade war with China by slapping 35% tariffs on its tires. But besides giving China a kick, this protectionism will harm Americans across the economy.Sec. 421 of the 1974 Trade Act, intended to control surges in imports. But the markets paid attention. Global stock futures tumbled over the weekend. Asian markets dropped sharply Monday, fearing a wave of U.S. protectionism. China called the U.S. move "rampant protectionism" and vowed to investigate dumping charges against U.S. auto parts and chicken, two industries that have made inroads into the China market. The...

A full-blown trade row erupted between the US and China after Beijing accused Washington of “rampant protectionism” for imposing heavy duties on imported Chinese tyres and threatened action against imports of US poultry and vehicles. Trade relations between two of the world’s biggest economies deteriorated after Barack Obama, US president, signed an order late on Friday to impose a new duty of 35 per cent on Chinese tyre imports on top of an existing 4 per cent tariff. In his first big test on world trade since taking office in January, Mr Obama sided with America’s trade unions, which have...

A full-blown trade row erupted on Sunday night between the US and China after Beijing accused Washington of “rampant protectionism” for imposing heavy duties on imported Chinese tyres and threatened action against imports of US poultry and vehicles. Trade relations between two of the world’s biggest economies deteriorated after Barack Obama, US president, signed an order late on Friday to impose a new duty of 35 per cent on Chinese tyre imports on top of an existing 4 per cent tariff.

The White House leaked word late Friday evening that the U.S. will impose a 35% tariff on imported Chinese tires used by millions of low-income Americans. We wonder if President Obama understands the political forces he's unleashing with this blatant protectionism. Mr. Obama is setting a precedent in the tire case because he is applying a previously unused part of the trade law known as Section 421. This allows U.S. industries or unions to seek protection from "surges" of Chinese imports, with a lower burden of proof than normal antidumping or countervailing duty cases. President Bush nixed the four Section...

President Barack Obama on Friday slapped punitive tariffs on all car and light truck tires entering the United States from China in a decision that could anger the strategically important Asian powerhouse but placate union supporters important to his health care push at home. Obama had until Sept. 17 -- next week -- to accept, reject or modify a U.S. International Trade Commission ruling that a rising tide of Chinese tires into the U.S. hurts American producers. A powerful union, United Steelworkers, blames the increase for the loss of thousands of American jobs.

Obama decides to impose tariffs on Chinese tire imports for 3 years WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama has decided to slap punitive tariffs on all car and light truck tires entering the United States from China. Obama had until Sept. 17 -- next week -- to accept, reject or modify a U.S. International Trade Commission ruling that a rising tide of Chinese tires into the U.S. hurts American producers. A powerful union, United Steelworkers, blames the increase for the loss of thousands of American jobs. The federal trade panel recommended a 55 percent tariff in the first year, 45...

"I'm befuddled. There are few moments in my life where I'm embarrassed to say I'm from Texas, this was one of them," U.S. Trade Representative and former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk said. "I think that some of those that have been the most ungracious and discourteous five years from now will be embarrassed by their behavior. But right now, I guess the best we can do is be embarrassed for them."

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The Senate Finance Committee on Monday revealed that President Barack Obama's nominee for U.S. Trade Representative, Ron Kirk, had failed to pay $10,000 in taxes over the span of three years beginning in 2005. The panel report comes after several other nominees faced controversy over tax issues. Kirk, a former Dallas mayor, failed to report as income $37,750 in honoraria collected for 16 speaking engagements at Austin College, his alma mater, for 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. He also deducted NBA Mavericks tickets worth $17,382 as entertainment expenses in 2006, 2006 and 2007, but has substantiated...

President Obama went to Guadalajara, Mexico, in August as part of his promise to "rejoin the world community" and become a "citizen of the world." He participated in a conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. These cozy meetings of the so-called three amigos used to be labeled the Security and Prosperity Partnership. The three North American heads of state met in Waco in 2005, in Cancun in 2006, in Quebec in 2007 and in New Orleans in 2008. After conservatives exposed the mischievous goals, the amigos accepted the Hudson Institute's helpful suggestion to change...

President Obama just finished a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderone in Mexico City following three way talks. Here are some highlights. Both President Obama and PM Harper renewed their support for the Mexican government in their war with the drug cartels. President Obama called the policy "courageous". He said that there were ways to defeat the cartels while respecting human rights but also emphasized that the biggest violators of human rights are the traffickers themselves. PM Harper commented that his country needed to tighten up their visa policies because entrance into...

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – President Barack Obama pressed for a new tone in the United States' relationship with Mexico but found no immediate progress Sunday on the divisions between him and Mexican President Felipe Calderon over the pace of U.S. drug-fighting aid and a ban on Mexican trucks north of the border. Obama kicked off his second trip to Mexico as president with a friendly 45-minute meeting with Calderon that touched on the vast trade relationship between their two countries, their cooperation on swine flu and the violent Mexican gangs dominating the drug trade on both sides of the border. Their...

Does anyone know which special interests were behind the trade policy with China which allowed many American manufacturers to move to China, taking millions of jobs away from our country? I would love to know the names of individuals, businesses and organizations who were behind this. Was it just the manufacturing base that pushed for this or was Wall Street involved in it too?

With President Obama expected tomorrow for the North American Leaders' Summit in Guadalajara, Mexico, a coalition of American legislators and activists took a message to the Mexican media, denouncing economic partnerships that would undermine national sovereignty and blasting Obama's failure to keep his promises on transparency and the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Howard Phillips, chairman of The Conservative Caucus and head of the Coalition to Block the North American Union, spoke to Mexican print, television and radio media about the summit, which was known in previous years as the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership, or...

After a "Buy American" provision in the stimulus bill triggered a tit-for-tat with Canada, President Obama is warning fellow Democrats to think twice about another "protectionist" measure in the House-passed climate change bill. The climate bill that passed the House last week on a 219-212 vote includes a provision to impose tariffs -- starting in 2020 -- on imports from countries that don't have a system for limiting global warming pollution. The provision was pushed as a way to keep the U.S. competitive with other countries that haven't imposed rules to reduce carbon emissions and promote clean energy.

Trade: President Obama's encouraging words to Colombia's president Monday signaled an improving outlook for the two nations' long-delayed free trade treaty. It's good news, but he must take that message to Congress.Contrary to what you might think from the administration's responses to Iran and Honduras, not all of our friends are being snubbed or our enemies embraced. Obama showed considerable respect for our friend and ally Colombia at a working meeting with President Alvaro Uribe at the White House Monday, declaring at a joint press conference that "we are grateful for his friendship." It was a commendable show of leadership,...

A day after strongly praising energy legislation passed by the House, President Obama on Sunday spoke out against a provision in the bill that would impose trade penalties on countries that do not accept global-warming pollution limits. At a time when much of the world is mired in recession, Mr. Obama said, “We have to be careful about sending any protectionist signals.” He said that certain energy-intensive American industries — like steel, aluminum, paper and glass — had legitimate concerns about competition from developing nations and that he would seek to level the playing field in international negotiations. But he...

Despite indications that much of President Obama’s agenda is meeting intra-party skepticism all over Capitol Hill, there is one policy nexus where congressional leaders are still doggedly determined to move the country left: energy and the environment. Speaker Pelosi will reportedly allow a vote on the controversial Waxman-Markey “cap-and-trade” legislation at the end of this week. And it gets even better. Not content to tempt political fate by imposing huge carbon taxes on the American middle class, Democrats have added a provision which imposes stiff tariffs on our trading partners if they don’t adopt aggressive carbon restrictions of their own....

Free Trade: With unemployment at 9.4% and worse on the way, there's no doubt the economy's hurting. If the White House and Congress are serious about ending job destruction, they must open up new markets.It's not easy to flip-flop on a campaign promise, but it's urgent for President Obama to push for free trade as a way to create new jobs — one of the few really effective ways of doing it. Obama's appointment of Ron Kirk as U.S. Trade Representative shows he's coming around. Kirk, a free-trader, has reached out to Korea, Colombia and Panama, allies who've been waiting...

WASHINGTON – Iran spent nearly twice as much on U.S. imports during President Barack Obama's first months in office as it did during the same period in 2008, showing that despite trade penalties and tense relations, the two countries are still doing business.

US President Barack Obama removed Laos and Cambodia from a trade blacklist, opening the way for US loans to companies doing business in the former US adversaries. The United States has been boosting ties with both Southeast Asian nations. But the decision on Laos was sharply criticized by campaigners for the country's Hmong minority, which says it faces persecution. In brief declarations, Obama said Cambodia and Laos had each "ceased to be a Marxist-Leninist country," a designation that prevented financial support by the US Export-Import Bank for businesses operating in the two nations. The move, which still must go through...

The economic costs associated with a cap and trade policy are real. Republicans and Democrats alike realize this and have urged caution that a bill must protect American consumers and businesses. One idea floating around to protect American business and manufacturers is a protectionist carbon tariff. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu appears to be open to the idea: Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Tuesday advocated adjusting trade duties as a ‘weapon’ to protect U.S. manufacturing, just a day after one of China’s top climate envoys warned of a trade war if developed countries impose tariffs on carbon-intensive imports.Mr. Chu, speaking...

When Barack Obama came to Ottawa in February, Canadians lowered their defences and surrendered, seduced by the new President’s promises that the United States would stand by its international trade obligations and resist protectionism. It was an object lesson in why politicians should be judged on results, not their intentions. The reality is that Canada and the United States are engaging in skirmishes that threaten to erupt into an all-out trade war. John Hayward runs an industrial equipment company, Hayward Gordon, in Halton Hills, Ontario, but is in the process of transferring some of his company’s manufacturing capacity to the...

The Obama administration said on Monday that it has no plans for reopening negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement to revise its labor and environmental provisions, as then-Senator Barack Obama promised to do during his presidential campaign. “The president has said we will look at all of our options, but I think they can be addressed without having to reopen the agreement,” said Ronald Kirk, the United States trade representative. Mr. Kirk spoke in a conference call with reporters after returning from the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad over the weekend. He said President Obama conferred there...

It has been almost 50 years since events during the height of the Cold War prompted the United States to impose an economic embargo on Cuba. The USSR, whose military presence on the island precipitated these actions, collapsed 18 years ago and no longer poses a military threat. Let’s explore the various historic and current reasons for the continuation of these restrictions: National security: Cuba occupies a strategic location since it sits squarely in the path of maritime access to the Gulf of Mexico from the Atlantic Ocean. When Soviet missiles were located on the island (and only 90 miles...

Sixty-six percent of Americans now think that, on balance, trade with other countries is good for the U.S. economy, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll. That's up eight points from a poll in March of 2008. In the poll, twenty-three percent say that trade is bad for the economy, and four percent say it has no effect. The poll also finds that fewer Americans now think that trade restrictions are necessary to protect domestic industries, though 60 percent still think they are. Sixty-eight percent said the same thing in the poll last year. Meanwhile, twenty-eight percent...

• President warns protectionist exporters • Germany defies call to change outlook • America resumes Russia relations US President Barack Obama has issued a veiled warning to the export powers of Europe and Asia that they risk setting off a protectionist backlash unless they do more to restore global demand. "If there is going to be new growth it can't just be the United States as the engine. Everybody is going to have to pick up the pace," he told a joint press conference with Gordon Brown before the G20 summit. "Our goal is simply to make certain that each...

WASHINGTON -- The long-simmering dispute over allowing Mexican trucks onto U.S. highways is escalating into a trade war that could cost Washington state agricultural interests millions of dollars in lost sales and present the Obama administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress with an early test of their trade policies. Washington's pear, cherry, apricot and Christmas tree growers find themselves in the middle of a trade clash not of their own making and facing 20 percent tariffs on their exports to Mexico. The biggest impact, however, could be on the state's potato growers and processors. Mexico buys $83 million worth of frozen...

Clean up your fumes or stay away. That's the message US officials are sending to all vessels approaching US coasts. On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced its intention to designate the US coastal region an "emission control area" within four years. Ships entering US coastal waters, which typically extend 370 kilometres from the coast, will need to meet the highest clean air standards under international law. To approach the US, international vessels will have to cut sulphur emissions by 98 per cent on average by either burning cleaner fuel or chemically "scrubbing" their exhaust. Annual shipping emissions are thought...

Anyone worried that, once in charge, Democrats wouldn't be vigilant in protecting our southern border can relax. The grave threat of Mexican long-haul truckers has been shut down. With any luck, Mexicans will never have the temerity to attempt to deliver commercial goods into the United States again. At least such is the fervid hope of the Teamsters, the fiercest adversary the Mexicans have faced since President James K. Polk sent Winfield Scott south in the Mexican-American War. The union can't abide Mexican trucks because they represent competition, and so they must be blocked - legal obligations, economic rationality and...

The Office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), part of President Barack Obama's office, has denied a company's request for information about a secretive anticounterfeiting trade agreement being negotiated, citing national security concerns. The USTR this week denied a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from Knowledge Ecology International, an intellectual-property research and advocacy group, even though Obama, in one of his first presidential memos, directed that agencies be more forthcoming with information requested by the public. The USTR under Obama seems to be taking the same position about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) as it did under former President George...

Falling world trade Mar 24th 2009 From Economist.com A dramatic fall in world trade could be made much worse by protectionism WORLD trade, the engine of growth, is sinking at a pace not seen since the second world war. In projections released on Monday March 23rd, the WTO predicts that the volume of global trade, which grew by 6% in 2007 and 2% last year, will fall by a dramatic 9% this year. The drop will be worst for rich countries, whose exports will contract by 10%, but even emerging and developing ones, whose exports grew by an average of...

Experts in the Far East have suggested that more than one third of the current number of shipping companies may go bankrupt in 2009, because of the global economic downturn. Since the beginning of the crisis last September, at least four companies, hit by a combination of falling rates and a global capacity glut, have had to seek bankruptcy protection in order to keep trading. Exacerbating the situation is China's diminishing need for iron ore imports. Analysts suggest that shipping lines will respond by scrapping almost one third of active vessels over the next 24 months. Shipping lines trying to...

U.S. President Barack Obama's administration hopes to assemble a proposal to resolve a trucking dispute with Mexico before he visits the country in mid-April, an official said on Tuesday.