Trade Deficit Hits Four-Year High
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Research Director
The United States trade deficit for 2016 rose to $502.3 billion, its highest level since 2012, as a growing U.S. economy, a rising U.S. dollar, mercantilist practices by many foreign trading partners, and generally lackluster economic growth in foreign markets combined to make the trade...
News Analysis: Trade Deficit Worsens, 2016 Manufacturing Deficit Heading for $800B
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Research Director
The US trade deficit grew 6.8% in November to $45.2 billion, its worst monthly figure in nine months. The November report hammered home the challenge of a large and growing manufacturing deficit and large bilateral deficits with many trading partners.
Economic Analysis: The Job Cost of Imports
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Research Director
A new CPA economic analysis estimates that for each $1 billion of additional imports into the U.S. costs the nation 4,552 jobs. On this basis, the rise in imports from 2009 to 2015 has meant the loss of over 3 million jobs.
Legislative Analysis: History of Buy American Legislation from 1933 to Today
By Jason Cooper, CPA Research Assistant
US Buy America laws mandate that the government prefer domestic products over foreign ones when making purchases. Free trade agreements (FTAs) carve out exceptions to that mandate by requiring that the government treat the products of most of our major trading partners...
Legislative Analysis: The Enforce and Protect Act of 2016
By Jason Cooper, CPA Research Assistant
The USA places duties on trade in response to unlawful trade practices by foreign companies, but in some cases companies illegally bypass those duties, gambling that they won’t get caught. In February of 2016 the Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) was passed to...
Balanced Trade: Guiding US Economic Rebirth and Job Creation
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Research Director
Summary
The US government should adopt balanced trade as a key performance measure for trade policy. Following 40 years of recurrent trade deficits, our industrial base is depleted, American living standards have suffered, many of our cities and towns are in disrepair, and social...
New report on dumb economic studies of trade deals
By Michael Stumo
The US International Trade Commission (USITC) and private think tanks usually do "studies" to project the impacts of trade deals. We now have more information on how freakishly wrong those studies are.
The working class election
By Michael Stumo
While identity politics was a big part of the media's election narrative, those issues did not actually drive voters' election choices. Instead, exit polls showed they voted on the basis of the economy, not identity.
Rational Nationalism: The bipartisan antidote to globalism's failures
by Michael Stumo
This is a great election season. Why? Because the disparity between the utopian globalist elite and the various flavors (good and bad) of nationalism is in stark relief. We have a great opportunity for a reset whoever wins.
Yes, yes, I know that the political discourse is ugly....