Litmus Tests on TPP?
By William Reinsch: Apparently trade and TPP are inescapable these days. Last week the Clinton campaign announced that former senator and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar would chair her transition team. This immediately produced an outcry from the progressive wing of the party because of Salazar’s past outspoken support for TPP. This sort of […]
Inequality Revisited
By William Reinsch: It had become increasingly common, even before current campaign cycle, for politicians to express concern about growing inequality in the United States. To oversimplify, the public perception was that the rich were getting richer and the poor were getting poorer. A closer examination of the data produced an amended version — the […]
Are Attacks on Investor-State Dispute Settlement Justified?
By William Reinsch: One of the most frequently attacked elements of trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties (BITs) is so-called investor-state dispute settlement, or ISDS. This acronym sounds suspiciously like ISIS and is regarded pretty much the same way by trade opponents. The term refers to a process within a trade agreement whereby an investor […]
William Reinsch quoted in Politico on potential trade promotion authority renewal
TRUMP TALKS ECONOMY IN THE MOTOR CITY: Donald Trump is in Detroit today, where he’s expected to lay out his economic agenda. Trump’s trade advisers tell Pro Trade to expect the Republican nominee to touch heavily on trade during his speech, to be held at the Detroit Economic Club. For Trump, it will be the most […]
Does Trade Really Kill Jobs?
By William Reinsch: Now that the conventions are over and the platforms decided — not that anyone will read or remember them — the serious march to November 8 begins. People who have not been paying attention for the past year or so will begin to focus, probably after Labor Day, and the issues that […]
William Reinsch quoted in the Los Angeles Times on the Limited Success of Chinese Tariffs
A key plank in Donald Trump’s economic platform is to get tough on trade, especially with imported Chinese goods, which the Republican presidential nominee wants to slap with a 45% tariff. -snip- Still, William Reinsch, a trade expert at the Stimson Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said that while tariffs have helped some companies, “sadly, there aren’t a lot of examples” of success. They are blunt […]
A Trade War on the Convention Floor?
By William Reinsch: I have previously commented on the mixed feelings I have about trade policy suddenly being in the national spotlight. It’s great to see your life’s work appear on the main stage, but when you’re the villain rather than the hero, it’s not quite so much fun. It is clear from last week’s […]
The Republican Platform on Trade
By William Reinsch: After years of being below the fold in the business section, trade policy has emerged onto the front page, albeit in the worst possible way — via a political debate that is largely devoid of facts. I suppose there is something to be said for that old cliché that any publicity is […]