Free Republic

“Make America Great Again” will, given the astonishing victory it produced for Donald Trump, be recorded among the most successful slogans in political history. Yet it raises a question: how did America first become the world’s greatest economic power? In 1998, in The Great Betrayal: How American Sovereignty and Social Justice Are Being Sacrificed to the Gods of the Global Economy, this writer sought to explain. However, as the blazing issue of that day was Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton, it was no easy task to steer interviewers around to the McKinley Tariff. Free Trade Shouldn't Be a Litmus Test...

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. economic growth accelerated to an annual rate of 4.1% in the second quarter, compared with a revised 2.2% in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday. This is the fastest rate of growth in almost four years. The second quarter gain was close to the 4.2% rate economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast. The acceleration of real gross domestic product in the second quarter reflected a jump in consumer and government spending.

"Make America Great Again!" will, given the astonishing victory it produced for Donald Trump, be recorded among the most successful slogans in political history. Yet it raises a question: How did America first become the world's greatest economic power? In 1998, in "The Great Betrayal: How American Sovereignty and Social Justice Are Being Sacrificed to the Gods of the Global Economy," this writer sought to explain. However, as the blazing issue of that day was Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton, it was no easy task to steer interviewers around to the McKinley Tariff. Free trade propaganda aside, what is the...

As trade tensions escalate between Washington and Beijing, the U.S. Senate quietly passed legislation on Thursday that would lower trade barriers on hundreds of items made in China. With no debate, Senate unanimously passed a bill that would cut or eliminate tariffs on toasters, chemicals and roughly 1,660 other items made outside United States. Nearly half of those items are produced in China, according to a Reuters analysis of government records. The United States and China, the world's two largest economies, are increasingly at loggerheads over trade. U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a series of punitive tariffs on Chinese...

... What is driving the president’s apparent eagerness to impose tariffs is a simple and wrongheaded idea that plays to a large part of his base: A trade war will spur job growth in America. He is trying to use tariffs to give a leg up to American industries against countries that manufacture the same products that we do — whether steel, aluminum or cars — but more efficiently. And who could be against that if it creates more jobs? In reality, however, creating jobs alone does not make for a strong economy. What we really want is to increase...

When Donald Trump’s chief trade adviser went to Beijing in May with proposals to open up China’s vast domestic market to American goods – and thereby reduce a ballooning trade deficit with China – the mission was declared a failure. Before Robert Lighthizer set off, the veteran rightwing economist told Congress: “It is not my objective to change the Chinese system. It seems to work for them … But I have to be in a position where the US can deal with it, where the US isn’t the victim of it. And that’s where our role is.” Chinese officials wanted...

French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday he viewed talks between US President Donald Trump and EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker as “useful”, but he was “not in favor” of a “vast new trade deal” between the European Union and the United States. “Europe and France never wanted a trade war, and the talks yesterday were therefore useful in as far as they helped scale back any unnecessary tension, and working to bring about an appeasement is useful,” the French leader said after a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Madrid. “But a good trade discussion… can only be...

It’s too good! Yesterday, former Obama Treasury Secretary Jack Lew was on CNBC bashing President Trump’s Trade Tactics when the news came out that Trump had reached a deal with the European Union! They asked Lew for immediate reaction and he clearly didn’t know what to say. CNBC’s Sara Eisen then directly confronted him: “If this is true, this certainly would be a win for the Administration, and it would show the World that these tough trade tactics are working . . . ."

The meeting on trade Wednesday between President Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker had all the makings of a potential crackup, but in the event it provided the best economic news in weeks. Financial markets were clearly pleased, as stocks rose across the board before the closing bell on the statements by the two presidents after their White House session. Call it a relief rally. The two sides essentially declared a tariff truce, pending negotiations on a larger trade deal between the 28-nation European Union and the U.S. Mr. Trump agreed to step back from his threat of 25%...

Non-Chinese buyers cash on American supplies to feed demand in their own countries, analysts say Who’s winning the US-China trade war? When it comes to soybeans, the answer is Brazil. The South American nation is capitalising on the strife caused by US President Donald Trump’s trade war to profit from both China and America in soybean trade. China has been the biggest buyer of US soybean in recent years, but as imports have become caught up in Beijing and Washington’s tit-for-tat tariffs, Chinese purchasers are now looking to to Brazil to make up the shortfall. As a result, US soybean...

The Trump Tariffs are working! Here is President Donald Trump in the White House Rose Garden announcing with European Union President Jean-Claude Juncker a deal that has been reached to work toward zero tariffs and zero trade barriers on non-automotive products between the U.S. And Europe. The EU agreed to buy American Soybeans and to buy American Liquified Natural Gas – a direct shot at Russia! Those NeverTrumpers who have incessantly attacked Trump for using Tariffs to create a more level playing field for Trade now have egg all over their collective faces. Trump is proving he knows what he...

by Chuck Rudolph | 24News"The E.U. blinked..."President Donald Trump scored a “major win” on Wednesday by reaching a limited trade deal with the European Union, which made a “major concession” to the United States to avoid a trade war.That’s according to business news anchor Neil Cavuto of Fox News — a regular Trump critic, who just last week blasted President Trump over his press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland. Amidst recent tariffs and tensions, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker arrived at the White House with two options for a deal to avoid a wider trade war, according to ABC News:...

Here Are Three Hot Things to Know About Stocks Right Now The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot higher at the close on reports of a U.S. deal with the EU to avoid a trade war. Facebook (FB) slides in after-hours trading after revenue miss. General Motors Co. (GM) slumped 4.3% after the automaker issued an outlook for 2018 that was below analysts' estimates. Wall Street Overview Stocks surged in late trading on Wednesday, July 25, to end sharply higher on reports the U.S. and Europe have reaced an agreement to avoid a trade war The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose...

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump and European Union leaders announced Wednesday they have agreed to work toward "zero tariffs" and "zero subsidies" on non-automobile goods and would work to resolve U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that have roiled European markets. The president, in a hastily called Rose Garden statement with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, said the EU had agreed to buy "a lot of soybeans" and increase its imports of liquefied natural gas from the U.S. Juncker, meanwhile, said the U.S. and EU had agreed to hold off on further tariffs as part of trade talks aimed...

President Donald Trump on Wednesday secured concessions from Europe, averting a trade war, Dow Jones reported, citing a European Union official. The report came shortly before Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker were scheduled to brief the press at a joint conference in the White House Rose Garden.

BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union’s budget commissioner suggested on Wednesday the bloc would be ready to discuss mutual tariff cuts with the United States across a range of products, provided Washington lifts recent punitive tariffs first.

One of the great lies of modern politics is that when a policy fails, it's because someone just didn't care enough. It's a nostrum repeated frequently: If President Trump were to only care more about immigrant children, he'd find a way to unite them with their parents; if Democrats were to only care more about the homeless, they'd find a way to clean up Los Angeles and Seattle; if Republicans were to only care more about the sick, they'd find a way to bring down insurance premiums. In reality, most failures are simply the result of unintended consequences. Take, for...

It is tariff day in Washington. President Trump will meet with European officials to talk trade tariffs. The meeting is with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Trump proposed in a tweet, that both sides drop all tariffs, barriers and subsidies. Trump, although doubts the Europeans will go for the idea. The tweet said: "That would finally be called Free Market and Fair Trade! Hope they do it, we are ready - but they won't!"

The U.S. is likely to maintain a trade deficit with China even if all tariffs are removed. Why? The U.S. is the largest economy in the world, and the American consumer has a ferocious appetite for goods and services. The U.S. economy simply consumes more than it exports. This is not going to change anytime soon. Tariffs are a different deal. They are imbalances. Take the automotive industry, for example. The Chinese and Europeans charge higher tariffs on U.S. cars coming into their markets than corresponding Asian and European automobiles entering the U.S. markets. This has been going on...

The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it will grant up to $12 billion in emergency aid to farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs in the ongoing trade fight with China and other American trading partners. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said that the plan, which will provide direct assistance and other temporary relief for farmers through the USDA’s commodity program, is meant as a stopgap to give Trump time to negotiate a long-term policy with China, the European Union and others. The plan was announced as Trump spoke at the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in Kansas City, where he...