Free Republic

In a burst of bipartisanship, the Republican-controlled Senate put President Obama's trade agenda back on course on Thursday, clearing the way for likely approval within days for legislation allowing the administration to negotiate global deals that Congress could support or reject but not change. The 65-33 vote to resurrect the measure capped two days of political intrigue in which Democrats on both sides of the legislation initially joined forces to block action, then reached agreement with Republicans for votes on other enforcement measures to protect workers who lose jobs as a result of exports.

For a long time, there was a bipartisan consensus for free trade. President George H.W. Bush, a Republican, negotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement, and Democrat Bill Clinton got it passed. It prevailed in the Senate in 1993 with the support of 27 Democrats and 34 Republicans. The consensus wasn't unanimous by any means, but it was broad enough to steadily advance the cause. Tuesday's Senate vote against considering a bill to give President Barack Obama "fast-track authority" for trade deals suggests those days are gone. Only one Democrat supported it, with 42 opposed -- led by Elizabeth Warren,...

Cruz’s sudden trust of President Obama seems contrary to his nature. Has Cruz read the TPP? Even if he has, it seems a gamble to trust the Obama administration. Is there really any harm in having congress debate the agreement? If it is as good as its proponents say, it would have no trouble passing. Considering that the White House has not proven to be a friend of free markets, it would be wise to scrutinize any agreement this president supports.

Minutes after his former Democratic colleagues in the Senate filibustered his trade deal, President Obama sent a message to supporters declaring the fight was “personal for me” and pleading with liberals to rally around him. The president has been working with congressional Republicans to try to win fast-track trade powers, which would allow him to more easily negotiate trade agreements such as the Trans Pacific Partnership deal with 11 nations that border the Pacific Ocean. But Democrats, including dozens who served in the Senate when Mr. Obama was there, have balked at his efforts, questioning whether he has American workers’...

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...