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U.S. Trade Politics

62 posts

Ways and Means: More Complaints, Please

From a letter to President Bush from the House Ways and Means Committee: The Appendix to this letter contains a compilation of a number of the most persistent barriers to trade, and proposed causes of action to address each. These matters are long overdue for effective action by the Administration.

Zoellick on Trade Politics

My sense is that Bob Zoellick is one of the most well-respected trade people around, so I thought his comments here were worth noting: Whoever wins the U.S. presidency would probably back a global trade pact if a deal can be reached this year, despite Democratic candidates'

Investor-State Arbitration and the U.S. Presidential Campaign

From Alan Beattie in the FT: Amid the noisy battering the North American Free Trade Agreement is taking from both Democratic presidential hopefuls, one recent statement from Hillary Clinton was particularly resonant. “We will have a very clear view of how we’re going to review Nafta ,” the New York

Obama/Clinton and Boeing vs. McCain and Airbus

As if the Boeing vs. Airbus controversy on the Air Force tanker deal wasn't political enough already, with Obama and Clinton criticizing the decision to award the contract to a group that includes Airbus, now there's this: Angry Boeing supporters are vowing revenge against Republican presidential

Bhagwati on Obama vs. Clinton

In the FT, Jagdish Bhagwati writes: The Russian proverb goes that, if you are looking for a good son-in-law, you would not ask whether he drank but only how he behaved when he was drunk. Similarly, no Democratic candidate during the primaries can be anything but a protectionist.

Something New to Demagogue About

All of this NAFTA bashing is getting tiring. Isn't there something else to demagogue about? Hey, how about this: As has been widely reported, the Air Force stunned almost everyone yesterday by deciding to award its huge, $35 billion contract for new airborne refueling tankers to a partnership

More on the Obama Campaign's Contact with Canada

As mentioned yesterday, there have been allegations that the Obama campaign told the Canadian government that the NAFTA threats were just campaign talk. Initial reports suggested no such communication occurred, but there were new developments today: Despite repeated requests, Barack Obama's campaign is still neither verifying nor denying

Is the NAFTA Rhetoric Just for the Election?

Yes, according to one report: Did Sen. Barack Obama say one thing privately to the Canadian government about NAFTA -- and something very different during Tuesday night's debate? The answer is yes, according to CTV, a Canadian television network. The network reported Wednesday night that a "senior member&

Obama/Clinton: "Opt Out Of" Or "Re-negotiate" NAFTA

I was just watching the Obama-Clinton debate in Ohio. Most of the trade stuff was boilerplate, but one point jumped out at me. Both Obama and Clinton stated explicitly that they will "opt out" of NAFTA unless the governments of Canada and Mexico agree to re-negotiate

What the Candidates Should Be Talking About in Ohio

Much of the political debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in Ohio has been about which of them dislikes NAFTA more. But perhaps when addressing trade issues in their debate in Cleveland on Tuesday, they should be talking a bit more about stories like this: The Cleveland Clinic has