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Simon Lester

More on Huckabee and Obama

According to a Reuters article, some business groups question Huckabee's free trade credentials: While Huckabee's campaign Web site provides few details of his views on trade, some of his public statements "sound awfully protectionist," said Nachama Soloveichik, a spokeswoman for Club for Growth, a

A Trade Tidbit from the Republican Debate

There wasn't much trade talk that I noticed in last night's Presidential debates. But I found this one bit from the Republican debate amusing. In response to a question about illegal immigration, Governor Huckabee said: The fact is Americans are upset about this issue because they

Phyllis Schlafly on the Gambling Ruling and the WTO

Yes, that's right, I said Phyllis Schlafly. She has read a bit and even quotes from the Gambling decision and also Article XVI:4 of the WTO Agreement. Her main point seems to be that it's outrageous for the WTO to have authorized Antigua to "

Ben Muse on Cuba Trade and the U.S.-Korea FTA

I wanted to point out a couple recent Ben Muse posts. First, he has one today arguing that it is "time to move away from the Cuban trade embargo," and also describing various Presidential candidates' position on the issue. Second, he had a post a little while

Huckabee and Obama

Congrats to the winners of tonight's Iowa caucuses. Their reward? Additional scrutiny of their trade policies. Here's Huckabee, talking about trade in the context of his FairTax: If you buy a bottle of domestic wine, you're paying the taxes/compliance/matching payments of all

My Trade Question for the U.S. Presidential Candidates

I wish we could cut through the campaign rhetoric and get answers to some of the fundamental trade questions. Along these lines, here's my question for the U.S. Presidential candidates: Under what circumstances, if any, do you think discrimination against foreign goods and services is good policy?

The Champagne Cartel

There's always a lot of talk about the OPEC oil cartel, even in the trade context, but what about the French champagne cartel: A looming shortage of the bubbly French wine, spurred by limits on grape production and rising demand in the U.S., Japan, and the U.

Republicans versus Democrats in the WTO Negotiations

Which party is more likely to complete the Doha Round? According to this WSJ story, the Republicans are saying they are: ... the U.S. administration is using rising protectionist sentiment among the Democrat candidates ... to pressure delegates from around the globe to cut deals fast, while Republicans still hold the

"Illegal Subsidies" versus "Legal Inducements"

From a statement by John Edwards to the Iowa Fair Trade Campaign: And our trade deals must include prohibitions against illegal subsidies and currency manipulation and other trade cheating of the sort that is in fact encouraged under most of our current arrangements, to the detriment of American farmers, workers

Trade in Everything (New Year's Eve Edition): (Alleged) Hallucinogens

From the Palm Beach Post: Blame Johnny Depp's dazed bathtub scene in 2001's From Hell for making absinthe popular. Blame the fall of the Berlin Wall for making it available. It was the post-Soviet Czech Republic that gleefully jumped on the absinthe manufacturing bandwagon. The