Free Republic

In a trade war, we are told, foreign manufacturers are not affected at all by tariffs imposed by the U.S. government. Only U.S. consumers will pay more. Yet, mysteriously, if a foreign country imposes tariffs on U.S. exports, it is a catastrophe for U.S. manufacturers and “farmers” (giant conglomerates). So we are told that U.S. exporters will suffer from a trade war. However, foreign producers importing to the U.S. will not be affected in the slightest. That is not sound analysis, but propaganda. Saying that tariffs hurt U.S. consumers and U.S. producers, but tariffs have no effect at all on...

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.

Stoking a trade war with Beijing might seem odd behaviour for a senior presidential appointee, especially one struggling to explain why he has failed to pay his tax bills; but when Tim Geithner, Barack Obama's nominee for treasury secretary, branded China a "currency manipulator," last week, it sparked fears that long-simmering tensions between two of the world's most powerful economies could burst into a full-blown conflict. Frustrated US senators have long demanded a crackdown on China, which has catapulted itself into the economic major league by selling billions of dollars of cut-price goods to western consumers. As the American economy...

What McCain Means by Patrick Buchanan January 25 , 2008 In 2004, the voters of Arizona, by 56 percent to 44 percent, enacted Proposition 200, requiring proof of citizenship before an individual may vote or receive state benefits. Forty-six percent of Hispanics voted for Prop. 200, giving the lie to those who say Hispanics support the illegal invasion of their country. Over 190,000 Arizonans petitioned to put Prop. 200 on the ballot. As it simply required proof of citizenship before receiving the benefits and privileges of citizenship, who could oppose it? Answer: the entire GOP congressional delegation, led by Sen....

Brownback calls for trade fight By: Aaron Gould Sheinin - TheState.com August 16, 2007 09:59 AM EST Republican presidential hopeful Sam Brownback said Wednesday the United States should use its greatest foreign policy advantage — its economy — to force change in China and to “get in their face on it.” Brownback, a U.S. senator from Kansas, said the Chinese have used their position on the United Nations Security Council to boost China’s own economy. “The rougher the regime and the more likely we are to throw the regime out, the more likely they are to back them,” Brownback said...

WASHINGTON -- When Bob Hunter, a Riverside, Calif., businessman, would hear of a conservative's campaign that needed volunteers, he would pile his family into the station wagon and drive off to ring doorbells. Hunter's son Duncan grew up believing in retail politics. When Hunter returned home after serving as an alternate Goldwater delegate at the 1964 Republican convention in San Francisco, he told Duncan about chatting with another alternate, an amiable fellow, some actor, named Reagan. Who two years later was elected governor. Duncan learned early on about rapid upward mobility in politics. In 1969, he dropped out of college,...

Hunter To Hold Line On Buy America, Block EADS Bid To Make Tankers Defense Daily 11/21/2006 Author: Jen DiMascio< In his new roles as ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee and presidential candidate, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) intends to "hold the skirmish line" on provisions that boost manufacturing in the United States. That includes doing his best to block a team consisting of Northrop Grumman [NOC] and the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. that is competing against Boeing [BA] to replace the Air Force's aging tanker fleet. Airbus is a commercial subsidiary of EADS. "I will fight...

PRESIDENT BUSH decided to turn the protectionist tide that has been rising for some months, during which time the protectionists have had a good run. They have forced the United States and the European Union to restrict apparel and textile imports from China, and managed to stall progress in reaching key trade-opening agreements before the crucial December meeting of the World Trade Organization in Hong Kong.So the president decided to make a dramatic offer--a major reduction in trade-distorting agricultural subsidies. America has offered to cut by 60 percent the $19.1 billion it spends on agricultural subsidies if the E.U. will...

In Washington, D.C., and capitals throughout the world, the positive force of market competition often becomes clouded by regional politics and short-term self-interests. Unfortunately, this nation, the beacon of free-market capitalism, has not proved to be the exception to this ominous trend of late. Despite having long fought for and won a number of trade accords to provide a fair playing field for our goods and services abroad, some U.S. leaders now seem content to selectively thwart international engagement here at home. At the same time that we ask our counterparts in Asia, Europe, the Americas and elsewhere to open...

PRESIDENT BUSH SIGNED the Central American Free Trade Agreement on Tuesday in a White House ceremony made possible in part by 15 House Democrats, who defected from their party's otherwise solid bloc and supported the pact. There has been a lot of talk about the "CAFTA 15," and their votes could cost them dearly. Union leaders have already pledged to try to oust them in Democratic primaries next year, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco is reportedly threatening to yank plum committee assignments. It's a sad day for the Democratic Party when narrow-minded protectionism has become the...

Argentina's Congress Names Duhalde as President By Alistair Scrutton BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) - Argentina's Congress on Tuesday appointed Eduardo Duhalde, a populist powerbroker in the Peronist Party, as the new president until 2003, with the task of ending recession and social chaos in Latin America's third-largest economy. Duhalde, a stocky 60-year-old who became the fifth president in two weeks, faces a nation plagued by bloody protests and looting as bankruptcies and unemployment grow and Argentina heads for a record sovereign debt default. ``My commitment from today is to finish with an economic model that has brought desperation to the ...

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050518/pl_nm/economy_snow_china_dc_3 A Chinese accountant counts Chinese yuan notes in an office in Shanghai May 18, 2005. China on Wednesday dismissed criticism of its fixed currency peg and attacked European and U.S. steps to curb Chinese textile exports as unfair. (Mark Ralston/Reuters) China must beware of Congress, Snow says  Wed May 18, 5:50 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration is pressuring China to let the yuan rise against the dollar partly to mollify Capitol Hill and wants action within the next few months, U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Wednesday. "We are escalating the rhetoric and time is...

WASHINGTON – With the push to overturn flight restrictions at Dallas Love Field heating up, a schism has emerged among North Texas lawmakers. Three of the region's eight House members – all from the Dallas side – say it's time to loosen or scrap the 25-year-old Wright amendment. "I think it's outlived its usefulness," Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Plano, said Thursday. "That doesn't mean it's going to get repealed this year." The willingness of Dallas-area lawmakers to openly side with Southwest Airlines Co. against American Airlines Inc. represents a fresh threat to American and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Both have been...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. New Delhi, Nov. 10 (NNN): America is likely to lose its overall lead in technology and innovation sector to Asian nations such as India, China, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore, according to a top foreign policy expert. Adam Segal, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations writes in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs that though American technical dominance remains solid, the globalisation of research and development is exerting considerable pressure on the American system. In addition to the increasing science and research and development budgets, India, China, South...

GREEN BAY, Wis., Feb. 16 — Seeking to cement his position as the front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senator John Kerry crisscrossed Wisconsin on Monday, promising voters he would stanch the flow of jobs overseas. On the eve of the Wisconsin primary, Mr. Kerry was trying to deflect criticism of his 1993 vote for the North American Free Trade Agreement. At a town-hall-style meeting in Wausau, a woman told Mr. Kerry that she had lost her job last year. Saying that his views on the trade agreement, Nafta, "are still throwing some red flags in my...

The bill granting the president trade promotion authority came laden with domestic costs, too. It offers tax-funded income support and retraining benefits to workers who, supposedly, lose their jobs because of foreign competition. How the government plans to distinguish companies that fall victim to nefarious foreign competitors from companies with lousy management or unattractive products is anybody's guess. More than likely, the recipients of taxpayer largesse will be determined based on the clout wielded by labor leaders and their friends in Congress. But none of this means that hopes for loosened trade barriers are doomed. While tit-for-tat deals between governments...