free trade

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New NAFTA Deal Forged Just Before US Deadline

Canada will be part of 'USMCA'

(Newser) - Canada and the United States reached a deal Sunday night for Canada to stay in a free trade pact with the US and Mexico. In a joint statement late Sunday, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said the agreement "will strengthen the middle...

Amid Tariff Hikes, Beijing Appeals for Free Trade

'It is essential that we uphold the basic principles of multilateralism and free trade'

(Newser) - China's No. 2 leader appealed Wednesday for support for free trade and promised to improve conditions for foreign companies following tit-for-tat US and Chinese tariff hikes in an escalating battle over Beijing's technology policy. Premier Li Keqiang's comments add to Beijing's effort to portray itself as...

Bannon 'Comeback' Involves Steel, Canada, Dairy 'Disgrace'

Nationalist views on trade win out over globalist ones—or so it seems for now

(Newser) - President Trump has been pushing hard to bring his "Buy American, Hire American" mantra to fruition, including with an executive order meant to prevent "foreign cheaters" from taking US jobs and infringing on our steel production, a senior administration official said Monday, per Politico . The New York Times ...

Inside the Historic Free-Trade Pact We Just Agreed To

Trans-Pacific Partnership terms hashed out after years of negotiations

(Newser) - The United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, and eight more Pacific Rim countries on Monday came to an agreement on a free-trade pact that would kill upward of 18,000 tariffs currently in place on US exports ranging from cars to avocados, in a deal the Washington Post hails as the...

Obama Seeks New Corporate Powers in Trade Pact

US corporations would be able to challenge foreign laws: memos

(Newser) - The Obama administration is trying to grant US corporations formidable new powers in a trade pact with 11 other countries—including the ability to challenge laws and regulations abroad. In memos obtained by the Huffington Post (see them here and here ) the US is also pressing other members of...

US, EU Start Shopping for Massive Free Trade Deal

Hope to start talks by June, but big issues could loom

(Newser) - The United States has 20 free trade pacts ranging from big neighbors to tiny allies, but today Washington set its sights on a far grander prize: the entire European Union, reports Reuters . The two powers announced that they hoped to start talks on a free trade deal by the end...

Don't Kid Yourself, Tea Party: Elites Are Still In Charge

Washington knows which side its bread is buttered on, Dana Milbank writes

(Newser) - The supposedly tea-stained House of Representatives passed three free trade bills yesterday, despite ample polling data showing that Tea Party voters are strongly opposed to free trade. It’s just further proof, writes Dana Milbank of the Washington Post , that “for all the talk of populist foment,” from...

South Korea's Lee Visits White House

State visit coincides with new free trade agreement

(Newser) - President Obama welcomed Lee Myung-bak to the White House with all the requisite pomp and circumstance today, touting the newly-minted free trade agreement between South Korea and the US. “With our landmark trade agreement, we will bring our nations even closer, creating new jobs for both our people and...

US-South Korea Trade Deal Hits the Rocks

But broader G20 pact near

(Newser) - After days of furious negotiating, the US has failed to strike a free trade deal with South Korea. President Obama still hopes that the deal can be reached within a few weeks, but probably not before Obama leaves Seoul, the LA Times reports—a Korean official said that Lee Myung-bak...

Right Should Cheer Obama's India Speech

It 'defended free trade, free markets, and free society,' writes Bret Stephens

(Newser) - It may “shock and dismay” his most faithful readers, but conservative Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens has to hand it to President Obama: He “gave a terrific speech yesterday to India’s parliament, perhaps the best of his presidency, and potentially a true compass for the rest...

Time for Big Business to Squash Tea Party

Corporate America must battle extremism

(Newser) - Big business may see the Tea Party as harmless, or perhaps even helpful, but it's time to “take a closer look:" the movement’s aspirations aren’t in its interests, writes Robert Reich in the Christian Science Monitor . Some 60% of Tea Partiers want, for example, to dump...

Canada to US: Are We Still Friends?
 Canada to US: 
 Are We Still Friends? 
Analysis

Canada to US: Are We Still Friends?

American protectionism worries our northern neighbor

(Newser) - Canada’s biggest problem now also happens to be its best friend: America. PM Stephen Harper once worried that Canada’s “special relationship” with the US had been lost under George W. Bush—and it hasn’t improved a bit under Obama, writes Luiza Ch. Savage in Macleans. Not...

Free Trade Under Fire as Protectionism Surges

November's G-20 agreement is abandoned as nations erect commerce barriers

(Newser) - The global recession has protectionism making a comeback, the New York Times reports, dimming hopes that leaders can create lasting solutions to the crisis at April’s Group of 20 economic summit in London. The last G-20 meeting, held in November, yielded an agreement to promote free trade that was...

Mexico Slaps US With Tariff
 Mexico Slaps US With Tariff 

Mexico Slaps US With Tariff

(Newser) - Mexico said yesterday it will increase tariffs on about 90 US products in retaliation for last week's decision to end a pilot program that allowed some Mexican trucks to transport goods in the United States. The measure will affect about $2.4 billion in trade involving goods from 40 states....

New White House Tougher on Trading Partners

Trade nominee vows renegotiated pacts, tougher enforcement

(Newser) - The Obama administration is taking a harder line with trading partners, reworking policy to  emphasize priorities from unemployment at home to climate change, the Washington Post reports. The White House will seek to renegotiate trade deals with South Korea and Colombia and will demand broad concessions from other countries at...

Crisis Cripples Obama Vows on Taxes, Trade

Businesses gird for battle; hike on wealthy may have to wait

(Newser) - Some of President Obama’s best campaign applause lines will likely be silenced by economic reality, the Wall Street Journal reports. With the recession raging, Obama probably won't roll back the Bush tax cuts as promised, and his pledge to eliminate tax loopholes for corporations that shift jobs overseas is...

Obama Heads to Canada Amid Trade Concerns

NAFTA issues likely to loom large over visit

(Newser) - Barack Obama makes his first foreign trip as president today to Canada, and his talks there are likely to touch on some thorny trade issues, the New York Times reports. Obama spoke forcefully in favor of reopening NAFTA while a candidate, but intends to focus on strengthening the US-Canada trade...

Senate Dilutes 'Buy American' Plan

Amendment calls for stimulus plan to honor existing trade agreements

(Newser) - The Senate has voted to water down the "Buy American" clause in the economic stimulus package amid fears it could trigger a trade war, Reuters reports. The requirement that stimulus-funded projects use American-made iron, steel and manufactured goods now includes the proviso that it only be applied in a...

Japan's PM Slams 'Buy American' Provision

World leaders roundly criticize stimulus provision

(Newser) - Japan’s prime minister today slammed the “Buy American” clause in the proposed economic-stimulus bill currently being considered by the US Senate, the Financial Times reports. Speaking in parliament, Taro Aso said that requiring stimulus projects to use US-made materials is “definitely wrong,” and contrary to the...

Big Biz Slams 'Buy American' Stimulus Clause

Exporters warn of foreign backlash if package erects free-trade barriers

(Newser) - American exporters are fighting to ditch "Buy American" provisions from the economic stimulus package, the Washington Post reports. The House version bars most foreign iron and steel from stimulus projects, while a Senate version calls for only American-made equipment and goods to be used in nearly all projects to...

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