Free Republic

President Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on imported cars is working, sending foreign leaders from Mexico to Japan racing to the negotiating table to make deals. But their offers may not satisfy a president who has shown a willingness to embrace trade tensions in an effort to extract more from American trading partners. The European Union on Thursday made one of the most significant concessions, saying it would cut its existing penalties on automobiles to zero, provided the United States dropped its own tariffs. Although the president has called for something similar, Mr. Trump said he wanted Europe to go...

German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier launched strong attack on Trump for his tariffs and sanctions. He told Bild am Sonntag newspaper that “this trade war is slowing down and destroying economic growth – and it creates new uncertainties.” Meanwhile, the agreement between the EU and US “can only be first step”. Altmaier emphasized “Our goal is a global trade order with lower tariffs, less protectionism and open markets.” Regarding US sanctions on Iran, Altmaier also pledged the Germany and EU will continue to support companies doing business with Iran. He warned that “we won’t let Washington dictate us with whom...

Many U.S. manufacturers are shrugging off concerns over tariffs and trade tensions as strong demand at home and abroad is yielding stronger-than-expected profits.

RANSOM, Kan.—The Farm Belt is hurtling toward a milestone: Soon there will be fewer than two million farms in America for the first time since pioneers moved westward after the Louisiana Purchase. Across the heartland, a multiyear slump in prices for corn, wheat and other farm commodities brought on by a glut of grain world-wide is pushing many farmers further into debt. Some are shutting down, raising concerns that the next few years could bring the biggest wave of farm closures since the 1980s. The U.S. share of the global grain market is less than half what it was in...

Japan and the European Union have signed a massive trade deal that creates an open-trade zone for more than 600 million people. The EU and Japan account for about one-third of GDP worldwide. The deal has been in the works for years, but the parties reached an agreement in principle a year ago, several months after President Trump pulled the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a major trade deal with Japan and 10 other nations.

I think the Prime Minister needs to park his ego and get a deal done,” says Zekelman, referring to negotiations for a North American Free Trade Agreement. The Canadian-born billionaire wants Trudeau to agree to a U.S. demand for a five-year sunset clause on NAFTA. “They have the world's largest economic engine and if we think we're going to swat them around, it’s not going to happen,” says Zekelman.

The Europeans don't know what to do. I think they're a little taken by surprise," says Cramer, referring to the tariffs on Canada, Mexico and the EU. "Whatever the Europeans are doing, they are confused because they've never seen anything like this president," he adds

Trade war fears and a presidential attack on Amazon are rocking Wall Street. The Dow dropped more than 700 points and the Nasdaq plunged 3% on Monday. All three major indexes are now in the red for the year. The sell-off on the first day of the second quarter came after President Trump once again attacked Amazon on Twitter. Amazon (AMZN), one of the biggest drivers of the 2017 market rally, tumbled 5%, wiping out more than $37 billion of its market value. Trump once again accused Amazon of taking advantage of the US Postal Service, and he suggested that...

...The New York Times lectured Haiti on April 18 (2008) that “Haiti, its agriculture industry in shambles, needs to better feed itself.” Unfortunately, the article did not talk at all about one of the main causes of the shortages -- the fact that the U.S. and other international financial bodies destroyed Haitian rice farmers to create a major market for the heavily subsidized rice from U.S. farmers. This is not the only cause of hunger in Haiti and other poor countries, but it is a major force. Thirty years ago, Haiti raised nearly all the rice it needed. What happened?...

WASHINGTON — The US International Trade Commission gave final approval Wednesday for imposition of penalty tariffs on imported Chinese steel pipes targted for unfair subsidies. The commission, an independent federal agency determining import injury to US industries, said it "has made an affirmative determination in its final-phase countervailing duty investigation concerning" the "oil country tubular goods" from China. The Commerce Department said last month it wanted to impose tariffs of between 10.36 percent and 15.78 percent, in addition to normal duties, following a probe on the imported steel pipes used to deliver oil and gas in the petroleum industry. The...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Elizabeth Edwards says avoiding the "Made in China" label on toys is not exactly child's play. With millions of recalls rolling in this year because of lead in toys, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards vowed during a debate there would be no Chinese made gifts under his Christmas tree. But, the former North Carolina senator says he immediately had to check with his wife to make sure he was right. The Edwards campaign says the kids will be unwrapping U.S.-made toys, but wouldn't get into the specifics as not to spoil anyone's gifts.

In this sixth year of the 21st century, one might argue that the American unipolar moment has ended, or that unipolarity has been revealed to be not at all identical with omnipotence. In either case, many Americans now feel less safe than they did ten years ago. The anxiety has many sources, all of them with an international component. There are the continuing wars in Central Asia and the Middle East, the ever more alarming terrorist threats, the relative decline of US manufacturing, the uncontrollable fluctuations in petroleum prices, the demographic transformation arising from Latin American immigration; and, an as...

Reuters UPDATE - Bethlehem Steel agrees to be acquired by ISG Wednesday February 5, 1:47 pm ET (Adds details on the terms of the deal, background) BETHLEHEM, Pa., Feb 5 (Reuters) - Bankrupt Bethlehem Steel Corp. (OTC BB:BHMSQ.OB - News) on Wednesday said it reached an agreement to be acquired by International Steel Group (ISG), creating the largest U.S. steel company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but will be presented to Bethlehem's board on Saturday, the company said. ISG, which is backed by New York buyout fund W.L. Ross & Co., on Jan. 6 had offered $1.5 billion...

Reuters UPDATE - AK Steel named lead bidder for National Steel Thursday February 6, 5:52 pm ET By Nichola Groom (New throughout, adds analyst comment, U.S. Steel comment, USWA statement, byline, changes dateline previous MISHAWAKA, Ind.) NEW YORK, Feb 6 (Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy court named AK Steel Holding Corp. lead bidder in the race to buy National Steel Corp., beating out United States Steel Corp., though a March deadline to strike a deal with the steelworkers' union could still sidetrack the $925 million deal. Thursday's ruling, which grants AK Steel (NYSE:AKS - News) "stalking horse" or priority status,...

Tuesday, July 16, 2002 Calhoun's Cause: Free Trade by Thomas J. DiLorenzo[Posted July 15, 2002]In The Essential Calhoun (TEC), editor Clyde Wilson commented that "it is curious how ignorant contemporary advocates of free markets are of tariff struggles in nineteenth-century America." There is much truth in this statement, since most advocates of free markets seem to be more interested in pure economic theory than in history. Understanding the momentous political struggles over tariffs in 19th-century America can greatly improve our understanding of free trade in particular and of American economic history in general--especially the history of the War Between the...

On March 27, the European Union imposed its own safeguard tariffs on steel imports in reaction to those imposed earlier in the month by President George W. Bush. The EU duties range from 14.9 to 26 percent on 15 categories of imports compared with U.S. duties ranging from 15 to 30 percent. The EU can thus claim to have imposed lower tariffs while still achieving the same effect. Both EU and U.S. steel tariffs are designed to block import surges from troubled steel exporters in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe rather than from each other. The EU is planning...