It seems that the president's request for Trade Promotion Authority ~ to grow our nation's economy and build our relationship with Asia ~ has been lost on those unfamiliar with trade policy and the dynamics of foreign relations. Commentators from the far right are starting to say that TPA is a way for the President to jam through his immigration agenda (see here for the good 'ol ...
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www.promote-trade.org
Does union leadership fairly represent the interests of American workers by opposing Trade Promotion Authority?
No. In fact, private sector union membership generally supports of pro-trade policy....
66 percent of private sector union members approve of President Obama's handling of issues related to global trade. This is higher than their 57 percent job approval rating overall.67...
Read MoreWe think not. In fact, Private Sector Unions are out of step with the economic interest and public opinion of rank-and-file members.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which dominates West Coast ports, is composed of the highest-paid blue-collar workers in America. The average full-time wages for fully registered workers are $142,000 on top of a non-wage...
Read MoreTrade Alliance to Promote Prosperity Releases New Polling Data on Trade
Intellectual property, environment, agricultural exports top priorities for Americans
A new poll gauging public opinion on issues of trade was released by the Trade Alliance to Promote Prosperity (TAPP). The poll was conducted by...
This week, TAPP was proud to join over 65 other organizations in an open letter to Members of the 114th Congress, calling for strong intellectual property protections that will offer security to America's IP-intensive industries in the global market place. From the letter:
"Intellectual Property Rights Are Vital to Economic Competitiveness
Read MoreVia The Economist
By Z.G.
ONE of the trickiest targets for Shinzo Abe’s third arrow of structural reform was always going to be opening Japan’s agriculture sector up to international competition. Japanese farmers have a powerful political presence, and have long been heavily protected from trade with tariffs upwards of 100%. Indeed, in the lead up to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations Mr Abe himself ...
Via Bloomberg News
By Brian Wingfield
The U.S., European Union and 12 other governments in the World Trade Organization have opened negotiations on a trade deal aimed at ending tariffs on environmental goods such as wind turbinesand solar panels. The WTO members agreeing to the talks announced today in Geneva account for 86 percent of global trade in the products, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said. The U.S. exported $106...
Read MoreVia MarketPulse
By Alfonso Esparza
Talks for a Pacific Rim free trade pact got into full swing Saturday, with chief negotiators from the 12 countries involved joining working-level discussions that started earlier.
Read MoreBy Ian Katz, Kevin Hamlin and Brian Parkin
South Korea topped the U.S. on government-backed export credit last year with an economy one-fourteenth as large. Germany helps Airbus Group NV compete against Boeing Co. with loan guarantees. China supports exporters of petrochemicals and electronics. The Obama administration is highlighting competition from abroad in its bid to keep alive the 80-year-old Export-Import Bank, which provides loans...
Read MoreBy THE WASHINGTON TIMES
America’s economic engine needs a jump start. Everyone agrees on that much. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that U.S. production shrank 2.9 percent in the first quarter of 2014, while corporate profits tumbled 9 percent from last year’s numbers. One way out of this would be to give President Obama more power. That sounds to most ears like a terrible idea. This president has assumed far...
Read MoreBy Pat Rosenstiel, Executive Director of TAPP
For over 80 years, the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) has provided American industry with the same competitive advantage assured to foreign businesses that receive export incentives from their own governments. In a global economy that does not always adhere to the free market ideals of our own, the Ex-Im Bank provides security for the jobs and opportunities that are created by exporting...
By Carlos Gutierrez
Two billion people in the Asia-Pacific region have reached the middle class. By 2020, another 1.2 billion will join them. No wonder U.S. businesses are increasingly looking across the Pacific in search of growth.
Unfortunately, Congress is undermining their efforts. Several lawmakers are opposing the Obama administration's push to conclude negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Trade...
Read MoreNew Identity Reflects Current Goals for International Trade WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 16, 2014)—The Trade Alliance to Promote Prosperity (TAPP) has announced the launch of its new website at www.promote-trade.org. Designed with improved navigation, the new web platform will support TAPP’s function as an advocate for fair and responsible...
Read MoreBy Peter Kenny
GENEVA—The World Trade Organization narrowly upgraded its 2014 forecast for global trade but cautioned that growth remained well below the long-term average.
The Geneva-based trade body Monday raised its estimate for growth in the value of trade in goods to 4.7% from 4.5% as economic growth showed signs of recovery. Despite the improvement, the forecast remained below the 5.3% average...
Read MoreVia Japan Times
By Erik Johnson
Failure by Japanese and U.S. negotiators to reach a Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement is making headlines across Japan and raising concerns about the implications for U.S. President Barack Obama’s trip here later this month.
But as two U.S. congressional representatives and a Washington-based group opposed to the TPP said Friday morning, such commentary obscures a more important...
Via Indy Star
By Michael Ducker - President, FedEx International
Starting this month, huge Boeing 777 cargo aircraft will begin streaming in and out of Indianapolis four nights a week coming from the new FedEx Express hub in Osaka, Japan. Locating our FedEx North Pacific Regional Hub on the western edge of Japan is partly due to a combination of geography, flight optimization, package consolidation, and something the Kansai International Airport (KIX)...
Read MoreVia Reuters
By Kiyoshi Takenaka
(Reuters) - Japan and Australia clinched a basic trade deal on Monday to cut import tariffs, as U.S. and Japanese officials stepped up efforts to reach a parallel agreement that would re-energise stalled talks on a broader regional pact.
The agreement between Japan and Australia comes as the United States and Japan push for their own two-way trade deal - a key component of a broader U.S...
Read MoreBy David Ignatious
Name a foreign policy issue on which China and most of the rest of the world’s nations are struggling to keep up with a U.S. initiative. If you guessed “free trade,” you’re correct.
In a season that has mostly brought reversals for Obama administration efforts abroad, the free-trade agenda keeps on chugging. The massive weight of the U.S. economy creates incentives for cooperation with...
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