Following through on President Obama’s announcement last month in Cartagena that the U.S.–Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement will take effect on May 15, 2012, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack made the following statement: Beginning today, U.S. agricultural exporters receive duty-free access on more than half of the products we currently export to Colombia, and virtually all remaining tariffs will be eliminated within 15 years. Estimates show that the tariff reductions in the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (FTA) will expand total U.S. exports by more than $1.1 billion, supporting thousands of … More
No Comments »
North Carolinians, like many Americans, are concerned that opening the door to foreign companies will result in the loss of jobs, hurting the economic livelihood of the state and its residents. North Carolina’s elected officials have reflected their concerns on free trade through their voting patterns. Both the voters and their representatives should rethink their position on free trade. While expanding on trade relations with other countries may, in some circumstances, lead to a decrease in employment for certain sectors, the overall benefits far outweigh the costs. North Carolina continues … More
No Comments »
The U.S., EU, and Japan are suing China in the World Trade Organization (WTO), calling Chinese export quotas on rare earth elements an illegal trade practice. The U.S. will most likely win. But the suit is peripheral to real issues and was brought because the U.S. is unable or unwilling to address the true problems in Sino–American economic relations. Of the many questionable practices in Chinese trade policy, the rare earths quota is a strange one to pick on. Last year, the quota was barely half-filled; higher prices and expanding … More
No Comments »
President Obama just announced plans to borrow millions of dollars from countries likeChinato create a new federal bureaucracy tasked with policing the trade practices of countries likeChina. The new bureaucracy is more about politics than trade. The International Trade Enforcement Center (ITEC) will have as many as 60 employees. With a budget of $26 million—about $433,000 per employee—it appears the agency may be bloated even by government standards. For example, the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office (USTR) currently spends about $207,000 per employee. The U.S.government already has several agencies dedicated to … More
No Comments »
By Justin Logan
Mitt Romney has an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal that Dan Drezner has aptly characterized as “Romney SMASH China!” Drezner takes Romney’s arguments on their own terms, but I’m …
What Was the Point of Romney’s China Op-Ed? is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
No Comments »
President Obama and President of the Republic of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili recently announced that the two countries should start free-trade negotiations. Let’s hope both presidents are serious. Presidents Obama and Saakashvili should instruct the appropriate government agencies to expedite preparation of the agreement. The most recentU.S.trade agreements, with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea, each took more than five years to get from inception to implementation. This deal could get done in a fraction of that time. Both countries are already relatively open to international trade and investment, and the volume … More
No Comments »
Toyota recently announced it will begin exporting U.S.-built Camry cars and Sienna minivans to South Korea from plants located in Kentucky and Indiana. The cars will be shipped through the Port of Hueneme—ironically, one of the California ports that Occupy Wall Street protestors recently attempted to shut down. Some people may wonder why Toyota would ship U.S.-built cars 7,000 miles to South Korea instead of shipping Japanese-built cars 130 miles across the Korean Strait. One reason is the recently approved the South Korea–U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), which reduces South … More
No Comments »
President Obama recently lectured Americans on economics during a campaign stop in Osawatomie, Kansas. The New York Times congratulated President Obama’s speech as a potent blow against market economics. Cal-Berkeley professor Robert Reich called it the most important speech of his presidency. The Kansas City Star gushed over his good policy and good politics. In reality, President Obama disastrously misdiagnosed the source of U.S. economic problems: Over the last few decades, huge advances in technology have allowed businesses to do more with less, and it’s made it easier for them … More
No Comments »
Last week, in Merída, Mexico, the leaders of Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Colombia met to affirm their shared commitment to economic integration, growth, and competitiveness. You may not have heard of the summit. In fact, a Google search of recent U.S. news articles covering the meeting of the “Pacific Alliance” turns up only nine results. It seems that while the United States’ key partners in Latin America were meeting to discuss critical economic and trade issues, America failed to pay much attention. America’s disregard, however, makes little sense. With a … More
No Comments »
Former Governor Jon Huntsman (R–UT) was at The Heritage Foundation this week answering policy questions. In his talk, he emphasized budget discipline, tax reform, and education. He also made a powerful argument for free trade, stressing that we have vastly underused our international options in helping address economic challenges. There are many such options. One of them is to promote free trade with our friendliest and most important partners. The U.S. currently has three contrasting approaches to trade. The first is protectionism, which advocates government interference to take choices away … More
No Comments »