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President Biden argued that it never occurred to former President Trump to take a competitive stance against China, while rolling out a slew of actions Wednesday intended to protect the U.S. steel industry from Chinese exports. Biden was in Pittsburgh at the United Steelworkers headquarters touting the new actions, which involves him calling on the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to consider tripling the existing 7.5 percent tariff rate on Chinese steel and aluminum imports. The president also said to boost competition with China, he has revitalized partnerships in the Pacific with countries like India, Australia, South Korea, the...

Republican presidential candidate former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that she is planning to stay in the race “as long as we are competitive.” Anchor Kristen Welker asked, “Let’s talk about Super Tuesday. If you wake up on Wednesday and you haven’t won everywhere, would you then have to make the decision that it’s time to drop out of the race?”

Longtime Colorado Representative Ed Perlmutter said on Monday that he will not seek reelection for the upcoming 2022 midterm elections. Elected in 2006, Perlmutter will be the 26th Democrat deciding not to seek reelection in the upcoming midterm elections. Although he only made the decision to retire this year, this is not the first time Perlmutter has considered leaving the House. In 2017 there was speculation that Perlmutter would retire from Congress after a brief but unsuccessful attempt to become the Democratic nominee for Colorado's governor. On Monday, Perlmutter explained that the reason for his departure this year is that...

With dynamic growth and access to capital seen as primary factors for jumping three places, the US has regained its status as being on the cutting edge of competitiveness in a ranking by the IMD think tank. A competitive ranking of 63 advanced economies published on Wednesday showed the United States improving three positions to return to the top spot, overtaking Hong Kong, Singapore and the Netherlands, and leaving Switzerland behind.As the top five most competitive countries in the world remained the same — changing only in their order — the American economy's comeback was mainly driven by economic performance,...

The United States knocked Hong Kong out of first place among the world's most competitive economies — fueled in part by the nation's faster economic growth, Bloomberg reported. Switzerland-based IMD World Competitiveness Center placed Hong Kong second in its annual rankings, edging out regional rival Singapore, with remained in the No. 3 spot from 2017, Bloomberg reported. [snip] Bloomberg pointed out Austria and China both made impressive gains in the rankings of 63 countries: Austria moved up seven slots to 18th place, and China jumped five spots to No. 13. Venezuela ranked as the worst economy, and Mongolia maintained its...

Singapore is currently the most competitive city in the world, beating out New York and London, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which focuses on global research. However, says the EIU, by 2025, New York City will be number one. In order for a city to be globally competitive, it must have a large and growing economy, a good legal system, an inviting and productive culture, good infrastructure and it must have good policy on things that determine long-term stability and success, like the environment. The EIUÂ’s latest report attempts to identify those cities that, as of 2012, best...

...The usual refrain among Republicans is that Congress should always be looking to “return power to the states.” But as George Mason University law professor Michael Greve explains in his book, The Upside-Down Constitution, the manner in which the federal government empowers states matters. Through “competitive federalism,” states are free to tax and regulate their own citizens as they see fit, and citizens and businesses can then move between the states. This is Greve’s Constitutional ideal. But under “cartel federalism,” which is what most of our federalist system has degenerated into, the federal government taxes everyone and then gives grants...

Those of you outside the medical services industry have probably never heard the phrases “DME” (Durable Medical Equipment) or the more formal DMEPOS (Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies). You’ve also probably never heard of Medicare’s DMEPOS Competitive Bidding program, and now that I’ve said it, your first thought is probably, “Hey, bringing competition to the medical marketplace! That sounds like a great idea! After all, competition brings down prices while improving service, right? So who could be opposed to that?” Well, a lot of us, actually. Not because we’re evil monopolists bent on holding onto our little fiefdoms...

The sport of competitive eating was given a shocking reminder yesterday that gorging oneself with a daunting amounts of greasy food in an extremely short period of time may have negative effects on health. A Taiwanese graduate student vying for the "Big Stomach King" contest at Dayeh University died on Tuesday just before he could claim the winning title. The 23-year-old had chowed himself ahead of 30 other teams by consuming two buns filled with rice and cheese and helping himself to some of his teammates food as well. He was on course to win the annual campus event when...

Competition and democracy go hand in hand. After races that came down to the narrowest of margins in Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004, Americans are getting used to hard-fought, close presidential elections -- and the 2008 campaign is the most electrifying in years. Both Democratic candidates have won more primary votes than any previous nominee. Both have ushered new voters into the process, as has the sheer closeness of the campaign. But real competition is still a rare commodity in the House of Representatives, which the Framers designed to be hard-fought. For all the talk of thin majorities...

Just about every day for about two months now, we've all been reading columns from the talking heads telling us that "Candidate X is finished." Of course, the identity of "Candidate X" has varied depending on which of the heads is doing the talking and at which point in time. (The one constant has been Fred Thompson, whose political demise has been predicted by the partisans of Rudy and Mitt since around April of last year.) As of late, the "dead" candidates have generally Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and (of course) Fred Thompson. Before that, it was Mike Huckabee and...

The ERC should give a sharper focus to European research Europe has a new flagship agency to fund the brightest ideas in science. The European Research Council (ERC) has been given a budget of 7.5bn euros (£5bn) to 2013, and will focus solely on fundamental, or "blue skies", study. It is hoped the initiative can find the breakthrough thinking - and eventually new products and services - to keep the EU's economy globally competitive. The ERC was formally inaugurated at a meeting in Berlin attended by the German Chancellor, Dr Angela Merkel. She said the Council would become "a...

The U.S. dropped to sixth place from its previous first-place position in the 2006-07 World Economic Forum’s Global Competitive Index (GCI) rankings. The U.S. fares better in this year’s "Ease of Doing Business" report, published by the World Bank and International Finance Corporation, where we rank third behind Singapore and New Zealand. A remarkable story is unfolding around the globe, as the Doing Business study reveals. The report quantifies significant, widespread and aggressive reform activity in countries that aim to improve their economic and business climates. Georgia, Romania and Mexico are the top-three reformers. China and France make the top-ten...

Hey, New York, check out the exotic "imports" - from Detroit. Detroit. Now that the media din has successfully canonized literally every import brand imaginable, no matter what the pedigree, and instilled a Detroit = Bad, Imports = Good mentality in the American car buying public, New Yorkers attending the New York Auto Show this week owe it to themselves to check out the "exotic" import offerings from the Motor City. And if they would take their import-oriented blinders off long enough, they would be shocked at the sheer number of competitive offerings from GM, Ford and the Chrysler Group....

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to turn over the drawing of legislative and congressional districts to a panel of retired judges could threaten some incumbents, but it won't necessarily produce a lot more competitive seats. If it does manage to increase the number of districts that either major party can win, it almost certainly will boost campaign spending by, and the political influence of, special interests the Republican governor frequently criticizes, according to research by experts in drawing district lines. Schwarzenegger has proposed creating more competitive districts as part of his package of plans to overhaul state government...

France has found a new tale of good and evil about which to make clever conversation. As usual the villains are capitalism and America, and “globalization” is the bogeyman combining the two malign forces which have, in their paranoid vision, conspired to diminish la France. Ho hum. The New York Times informs us that Parisian wine and film circles are abuzz with discussion of the surprise hit documentary Mondevino, which reportedly decries the “globalization” and “homogenization” of the world wine industry. Those under attack include Robert Parker, the American wine critic whose tastes have become the single most influential factor...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Finland is the world's most competitive economy, followed by the United States, Sweden, Taiwan, Denmark and Norway, according to a Global Competitiveness Report released Wednesday. The annual report by the World Economic Forum ranks countries according to economic growth prospects based on technological progress, the quality of public institutions and the macroeconomic environment. Finland, home to mobile phone giant Nokia (up $0.20 to $14.00, Research), captured first place for the third consecutive year for the best growth prospects, the Geneva, Switzerland-based WEF said in its survey of 104 countries. It said Finland was "very well managed"...

The Dems’ Enemy Smearing Halliburton. The Democrats have discovered the enemy in the ongoing Iraq war. And it is Halliburton. Nothing quite so angers Democrats about the current situation in Iraq than that Halliburton is making money there. Dennis Kucinich, the out-to-lunch leftist who sounds ever more mainstream given the leftward drift of the rest of the Democratic field, wants the United Nations in Iraq so there will be "no more Halliburton sweetheart deals." Bob Graham huffs, "I will not support a dime to protect the profits of Halliburton in Iraq." John Edwards vows "to stop this president from giving...

<p>In Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network annual report on the economic state of the valley, states that employees became more productive last year.</p> <p>The state budget crisis could make Silicon Valley an even more expensive place to do business as taxes rise and services are cut -- jeopardizing any economic recovery -- according to members of a business and government regional group.</p>