US Trade Deficit Edges Up To $50.0B as China Deficit Shrinks to Lowest in Five Years
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Chief Economist
The US trade deficit in goods and services edged up in March to $50.0 billion, slightly worse than February’s $49.3 billion. But the big news in today’s report from the Department of Commerce was that the US goods deficit with China has fallen significantly,...
When Chinese Networks Spy On Their Users
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Chief Economist
On April 30th, global wireless telecom company Vodafone went public with a statement to Bloomberg News saying that the London-based wireless provider found “hidden backdoors,” i.e. multiple security flaws in the wireless network supplied by Chinese network provider Huawei.
Does Nike Play Fair in Oregon?
By David Morse, Tax Policy Associate Director
Multinational companies are on the verge of outmaneuvering small domestic companies in Oregon by avoiding the business taxes that domestic companies pay. Specifically, Nike is close to ensuring the Oregon Joint Committee on Student Success raises taxes on businesses using a gross receipts tax...
The US is the world leader in 5G; We’re just missing one piece
By Jeff Ferry, Chief Economist
There is widespread concern in the US, ranging from cable TV shows right up to the White House, that the US is losing the race for 5G wireless networks. The concern is right, but the analysis is wrong.
February Trade Deficit Improves 3.4% To $49.4B As China Deficit Hits Best Level in 23 Months
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Chief Economist
The US trade deficit in goods and services for February was $49.4 billion, an improvement of 3.4 percent over the January figure of $51.1 billion, providing more evidence that tariffs are reducing the US deficit. That’s according to figures published today...
What is the Golden Age of Taxation?
By David Morse, Tax Policy Associate Director
“There is not going to be a return to a golden age of tax, this is about change,” declared Will Morris, chair of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD’s Committee on Taxation and Fiscal Policy.
January US Trade Deficit Improves By $8.8B as China Deficit Shrinks to 7-Month Low
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Chief Economist
The US trade deficit in January 2019 shrunk dramatically, coming in at $51.1 billion, $8.8 billion below the December level and $1.9 billion below the year-ago January level.
US Trade Deficit Hits $621B in 2018; Goods Deficit & China Deficit Hit New Records
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Chief Economist
Data published this morning by the Department of Commerce show that US trade figures continued to worsen in December and for the year 2018, in response to the strengthening dollar, a fast-growing US economy, and a surge in imports to front-run last year’s tariffs,...
Chinese Provinces Still Quietly Implementing Made in China 2025
By Steven Byers, CPA Senior Economist
Last summer, Chinese officials began talking about the liberalization of Chinese markets, in response to criticism of the highly nationalist and protectionist Made in China 2025 (MIC2025) strategic plan. That was in response to growing trade tensions with the US, and other foreign governments and...
Solar Power Deployments Up 4.5% Last Year as Tariffs Stimulate Manufacturing Expansion
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Chief Economist
The solar power industry enjoyed a healthy 2018, with solar deployments rising 4.5 percent to 11.6 Gigawatts installed last year.
Working Paper: Quantifying Economic Growth and Job Creation from a Competitive Dollar
This Working Paper presents the results of a CPA econometric model testing how much dollar adjustment is needed to balance US trade in six years and the dramatic economic benefits that would result from the adjustment.
by Jeff Ferry (Chief Economist) and Steven Byers (Senior Economist)
New Anti-Tariff Study Again Cries “Wolf”
Erroneous 2018 Predictions Repeated
By Steven Byers, CPA Senior Economist
Nearly a year after predicting 470,000 jobs would be lost due to President Trump’s tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, Trade Partnership Worldwide has published an updated study titled “Estimated Impacts of Tariffs on the US Economy and Workers.” The new
Trade Deficit Moderates to $49.3B in November; China Deficit Improves Sharply
By Jeff Ferry
CPA Chief Economist
Trade data for November 2018 published Wednesday by the Department of Commerce indicates that the Trump Administration’s tariffs may finally be improving our balance of trade.
Why China is Losing the Trade War
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Chief Economist
Three things happened last week that made me feel more confident than ever that US tariffs are working and China is losing the so-called “trade war,” which is not a war at all but simply a battle to enable the US economy to stand...
Huawei’s Employee Bonus Program For Stealing Technology
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Chief Economist
On January 16th, a grand jury in the US District Court in Seattle, Washington indicted Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei for theft of trade secrets and attempting to corruptly obstruct a civil lawsuit.
GM Cutbacks Due to Offshoring, Not Tariffs
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Research Director
General Motors is having a very good year in 2018. That’s right. You read that right, a good year. Maybe even an excellent year.
Top Five Cases of Huawei IP Theft and Patent Infringement
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Research Director
Last week, Canadian authorities arrested the Chief Financial Officer of Huawei, Sabrina Meng Wanzhou. The US government alleges that she was involved in a plot to circumvent US sanctions on Iran by using a dummy company, secretly owned by Huawei, to sell networking equipment...
CPA Response to Tax Foundation Claims on Effects of Tariff Actions
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Research Director
On Dec. 6th, the Tax Foundation published a brief document claiming that the tariffs implemented by the Trump administration earlier this year impose a $42 billion cost on Americans. The claim is wrong and based on misleading analysis, as a quick look at...
Monthly US Trade Deficit Rises $0.9B to $55.5B, Advanced Technology Deficit Surges 14% in October
Non-competitive Dollar, Front-Running of Tariffs Drive Up October Deficit, Imports
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Research Director
The monthly US trade deficit rose by $0.9 billion in October, reaching $55.5 billion, as exports fell slightly while imports rose by $600 million. The monthly data suggests that tariffs...
The Tariffs Are Working
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Research Director
Since January, the Trump administration has implemented five major tariff policies, on the solar panel, washing machine, steel, and aluminum industries, as well as the so-called Section 301 tariffs affecting $250 billion worth of Chinese imports, chiefly in intermediate manufactured goods.