| Trade News Archive: 3 May - 9 May |
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| The AmericanEconomicAlert.org News Article Rating System |
As well as providing fresh news reports every day, AmericanEconomicAlert.org offers a uniques news rating system. Each news item below has been given a rating from 1 to 5 stars, depending on its importance and relevance to
U.S. international economic and trade policy.
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| Friday, May 09, 2008 |
Techs suffer patent-protection setback in Senate
MarketWatch
• Comment: "Now it seems the legislation may fizzle, or at least the elements that technology businesses cared about most. "At this point, it seems unlikely that patent reform will pass," according to Stanford University Law School professor Mark Lemley, "If it does, it will likely be stripped of the provisions that dealt with patent abuse." |  |
Bush signs bill extending US labor law to Marianas
South Carolina Enquirer-Herald
• Comment: "Workers in the Mariana Islands will receive the protection of U.S. labor law under a bill signed Thursday by President Bush.Debate over whether to extend federal labor and immigration law to the Marianas, in the northwestern Pacific, had been sullied by reports of sweatshop labor and past associations with the lobbying scandal surrounding Jack Abramoff, whose firm was hired by the islands to oppose the changes." |  |
Brazil may contest US rules at WTO
Upstreamonline.com
• Comment: "Brazil may bring a case against the US to the World Trade Organisation if proposed ethanol tax rules are approved as part of a new US farm bill, Brazil's chief trade negotiator said." | |
GM to help end Axle strike
Detroit News |  |
Federal government confirms decision to reject foreign takeover of Radarsat
Yahoo! Canada | |
Cavanagh: NAFTA not good for America
The Daily Reporter | |
| Thursday, May 08, 2008 |
U.S. imposes duties on Chinese, German paper producers
East Bay Business Journal
• Comment: "Some Chinese producers of lightweight thermal paper face duties of nearly 133 percent imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce because the agency found evidence that the firms exported the products into the country at prices below fair value.The Commerce Department issued its preliminary decision in the antidumping case Wednesday, according to Appleton Papers, an employee-owned producer of lightweight thermal paper based in Appleton. Under the decision, One Chinese exporter faces a duty of 2.3 percent, while an unspecified number of other Chinese exporters face duties of 132.95 percent." | |
U.S. Democrats reassure EU over stance on Doha talks
Washington Post
• Comment: "EU trade chief Peter Mandelson said on Thursday he had been given assurances by U.S. Democratic leaders that they would not unpick a global trade deal if the party won November's presidential election." | |
Reviving the free-trade free-for-all (By Gary Andres)
Washington Times
• Comment: "Unfortunately, many free-trade supporters have an outmoded view of how lobbying really works in the 21st century. They believe it's done through hiring a few well-connected advocates to "fix" the problem. Insiders — former staffers or members of Congress — get hired to influence the votes and attitudes of the very malleable public officials. But that view of the influence business only exists in the minds of Hollywood screenwriters and maybe editorialists for The New York Times. Elections influence public policy a lot more than lobbyists — and so does public opinion." | |
Vehicle supplier to idle 177 at Van Wert plant
Toledoblade.com
• Comment: "Kongsberg Driveline Systems, of Van Wert, has told state officials it plans to move its shifter-cable, sample-service, and extrusion work from its local plant, resulting in the layoff of 177 employees." | |
General Motors to pay up to $200M to help end American Axle strike
Yahoo! Canada
• Comment: "The strike has crippled GM's production of pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles and hurt its bottom line. About 30 GM factories have been either fully or partially closed due to the strike.No deal had been reached between American Axle and the UAW as of Thursday afternoon, but American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers said talks were continuing.
"We are hopeful that GM's financial assistance to help fund the buyouts, retirement incentives and buy downs ... will facilitate an expedited resolution to the international UAW strike," Rogers said. "It's been costly and disruptive. A quick return to work will be a win-win-win for everybody." | |
McCain: Mich. economy fix lies in helping displaced workers
WWJ Newsradio 950
• Comment: "He also voiced his support for a new federal law mandating increases in the corporate average fuel economy or CAFE.A question about it came from a retired General Motors Corp. worker, who said the legislation couldn't have been worse for his company than if it had been written by its Asian rivals. He seeks a ''more rational solution'' to conserving gas." | |
Toyota fourth-quarter falls as strong yen, weak U.S. weigh
Reuters via MSN Money
• Comment: "Toyota Motor Corp posted a bigger-than-expected 28 percent drop in quarterly net profit due to a stronger yen and sliding U.S. sales, and forecast its first annual profit decline in seven years.
The world's biggest automaker is expanding rapidly in China, Russia and the Middle East to try and counter a slowdown in the mature markets of the United States, Japan and Western Europe." | |
Hu makes proposal for China-Japan economy co-op
CHINAdaily | |
Currency issues plague forest and paper industry, but good news coming from southern hemisphere and emerging markets
Yahoo! Canada |  |
A&A to buy Connecticut manufacturer
Biz Journals | |
Heinz to close Dallas plant
East Bay Business Journal | |
German trade surplus narrowed slightly in March
FXStreet.com | |
| Wednesday, May 07, 2008 |
Is U.S. Innovation Headed Offshore?
Business Week
• Comment: "Is American tech supremacy thanks to heavy investments in R&D also benefiting U.S. workers? Or are U.S. inventions mainly creating jobs overseas? A few years ago, most people took it for granted that what was good for companies was good for the greater economy. But the flat growth in living standards for most Americans during the last boom has raised doubts over the benefits of globalization." | |
Several companies disclose layoffs in Texas
Forbes.com
• Comment: "Dallas Woodcraft Co. said it will close its Dallas plant and eliminate 119 jobs on June 30. The company made products for Home Interiors & Gifts Inc., which sells decorating accessories through home parties but had seen its sales fall by more than half in four years, and it filed for bankruptcy protection last week.Another Home Interiors division, Laredo Candle, said it would lay off 77 workers in Webb County on June 30." | |
China currency must rise faster: IMF chief
Straits Times
• Comment: "The IMF Managing Director said sustaining growth in China would entail reducing the country's dependence on exports and investment growth and rebalancing demand toward domestic consumption.That rebalancing would among other things require a further appreciation of the renminbi, also known as the yuan .'China needs to go further and faster if new misalignments among major currencies are to be avoided,' Mr Strauss-Kahn added." | |
Lay offs, factory closings cost Kimball in third quarter
Evansville Courier
• Comment: "Kimball, based in Jasper, Ind., makes furniture used in offices and hotels, as well electronic devices sold to a variety of industries throughout the world. In March, the company said it plans to lay off about 150 workers by June 30. Between 75 and 100 of those jobs were to be cut in Jasper and the rest in the company’s factories throughout the world." | |
China Equities Have Bottomed
Forbes.com | |
A&A to buy Connecticut manufacturer
Business Journal of Milwaukee | |
Dollar Rises Against Yen in Asian Trade
PhillyBurbs.com | |
Prime Minister reiterates support for US businesses,
VietNamNet Bridge | |
| Tuesday, May 06, 2008 |
China a bright spot for stumbling Detroit
MSNBC
• Comment: "Last week, for example, GM said that even though it suffered a $3.3 billion loss in the first quarter because of weak U.S. sales, its revenue from operations outside North America in emerging markets like China, Russia, Brazil and India rose 20 percent. Earlier in the week Ford surprised Wall Street with a $100 million quarterly gain fueled in part by higher profits in China, which helped offset weakness in North America." | |
Planting a new lifeFormer Maytag workers find hope in RLC's horticulture program
The Southern Illinoisan
• Comment: "Richard Allen dedicated 37 years as a Maytag employee. Cheryl Vinson worked the assembly line for 33 years. Mike Wade and David Barnard trailed only slightly with 28 years each. Angela Bird joined three generations of family members as a Maytag employee and invested 11 years in the company. Barnard lives in Freeman Spur; the other four are Herrin residents.On May 10, 2006, all five received the news they were without a job, without health insurance, and without any ideas of what the future would hold."They shut the production down," Barnard said. "They made an announcement and they sent us home." | |
GM workers strike Malibu plant in Kansas
International Herald Tribune
• Comment: "Though UAW officials deny it, some labor experts think that the union is singling out critical GM plants for strikes in the hopes that GM will prod American Axle to reach a deal with its workers. Gary Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, noted that several other GM plants that are less important to the automaker's turnaround efforts threatened to strike weeks ago but have continued negotiations without picketing."It's very rare that you get strikes on issues like this," Professor Chaison said. "They're trying all ways possible to put pressure on American Axle having found themselves at a disadvantageous position in that strike. They're still showing that they're a party that must be reckoned with, that they still have some influence and leverage in negotiations." | |
Fix NAFTA: Trade with the U.S. hasn't improved in years
National Post
• Comment: "For example, there are a host of regulations with similar policy objectives that differ slightly between Canada and the United States (not to mention Mexico). This “tyranny of small differences” adds business costs without a material public-policy purpose. One simple example: In Canada, cheese-flavoured popcorn must contain no more than 49% real cheese; in the U.S., no less than 53%, as Michael Hart notes. Popcorn-makers bear the cost of two production runs, with no added health or safety benefit for consumers. Reducing these types of barriers should be central to a second round of tree trade with the United States (FTA-2) aimed at getting beyond the plateau (ideally, we should even move toward global regulatory standards). And we also need to address long-standing problems under the FTA, such as dispute settlement." | |
Dollar Rally Short-Lived as U.S. Economy Struggles
NewsMax.com
• Comment: "But further assessment of the data left investors wary of calling a sustained dollar recovery, with more economic and corporate fallout expected from the ongoing credit crunch that started in August last year." | |
UPDATE US Manufacturing, Service Sectors Seen Growing... (DJ)
Easy Bourse
• Comment: "The nation's purchasing managers are less optimistic about the prospects for the U.S. manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors this year, but they still believe the U.S. economy will be able to eke out modest growth." | |
OTTUN SOLIS: Fair free trade?
Gainesville Sun
• Comment: "The real paradigm behind FTAs is not the invisible hand and the survival of the fittest. FTAs do something worse: they legislate so that the visible hand of governments and legal systems are redesigned in order to guarantee multinational corporations the fitness required for their ultimate supremacy over states and over small and medium-size farmers, manufacturers and retailers." | |
Congress-Bush Spat Puts "fast-track” for WTO, FTAs at Risk
Third World Network | |
Haier Group Reimports Its Own Products Manufactured ..
Maekyung | |
FOREX-Dollar slips as focus shifts to yields, commodities
Reuters
• Comment: "The dollar is coming under renewed pressure as global risk appetite appears to be stabilising," said Callum Henderson, head of currency strategy at Standard Chartered Bank. "Investors have a lot of cash and are starting to reinvest, refocusing on nominal interest rate spreads and going for carry."
"In this environment, the dollar, which rallied on a positional short squeeze rather than improving fundamentals, is once again under pressure due to low yields." | |
Tariffs keep Brazil's biofuel from U.S.
Miami Herald | |
Japan Must Drop Tariffs on Hynix Semiconductors by Sept
Industry Week | |
| Monday, May 05, 2008 |
Oh say, is that banner made in the U.S.A.?
Stateline
• Comment: "State Del. Jack Yost (D), a former Army reservist, recently proposed a bill that would require that all flags purchased with state funds be made in the U.S.A.. He’s not alone — lawmakers in nine other states also have moved to restrict sales of foreign-made flags.“Our veterans, they’re made in the United States,” Yost said. “I saw that flag, and a red flag went up in my mind. I thought, ‘This isn’t right.’” | |
U.S. sock makers wage war on Gildan imports
Globe Investor
• Comment: "Clinging to survival against cheap imports from low-cost countries, they point out that the sock category is the last area in which domestic U.S. apparel producers continue to hang on to a decent share of the market.Dennis Martin, the owner of N.C. Sock Co. of Hickory, N.C., doesn't miss a beat when the name Gildan is mentioned in a phone conversation."Dirty word," he says over the line.He doesn't like the fact that Gildan bought Kentucky Derby Hosiery of Mount Airy, N.C. - actor Andy Griffith's hometown - in 2006 and shut its manufacturing facilities one year later, moving production to Honduras."We are not anti-trade," Mr. Martin says. "We are just anti-unfair-trade." | |
Food crisis could spur trade talks
AP via Yahoo!
• Comment: "The food crisis is the big jolt to Doha at the moment," he told reporters in Bali, Indonesia. "Getting an outcome in Doha is an absolute bedrock position for addressing the food crisis in the future."He said some countries think they can solve food shortages by restricting exports -- erecting another trade barrier -- which just adds weight to the need to conclude a successful Doha outcome." | |
ASEAN+3 to set up $80b crisis fund
CHINAdaily
• Comment: "Of the total amount, Japan, China and South Korea would contribute 80 percent, while ASEAN countries pay the remaining, according to the statement."I am glad to inform that the 11th ASEAN+3 finance ministers' meeting has come to a successful conclusion," Vietnam's Finance Minister Vu Van Ninh, who co-chaired the meeting with his Japanese counterpart, said at a press conference." | |
The Dollar: A Bottom at Last?
Business Week
• Comment: "L. Josh Bivens, economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, argues that the dollar was an "unsustainably high bubble" a few years ago, which robbed U.S. workers of millions of manufacturing jobs. Many mainstream economists agree with Bivens' analysis, if not his policy prescription: Tough negotiations should force China and other Asian countries, which keep their currencies at an artificially low level, to raise their values against the dollar. That would give U.S. manufacturers an even bigger advantage." | |
It's the weak dollar...
Louisiana Weekly
• Comment: "Interestingly, President Bush, in his speech about the weakness of the economy and the rising gas prices, did not mention the weak dollar, not once. The weak dollar is the eight hundred pound gorilla that no one wants to mention. Higher gas prices have driven food and transportation costs so high that the definition of middle class is re-evaluating itself. One late comedian joked that the stimulus checks that have begun going out this week were "just enough to pay for a drive to the gas station to fill up the tank and back." Price stability is a basic necessity of long-term prosperity." | |
Weak dollar lets companies profit in overseas markets
Biz Journals
• Comment: "Hill said his foreign business has spiked because companies in Canada and Mexico are turning to U.S. products that are cheaper. Freedom Telecom offers services updating and testing new fiber-optic data networks."We've had a major shift to foreign corporations," Hill said. "This time last year I had nine guys working full-time in this area, and now I have two to four people working a week in Puerto Rico and the same working up in Canada."Hill said he expects the amount of work hours his company has logged in those two countries to hit about 7,000 this year, when it didn't even reach 200 in 2007." | |
Will Feds Acquiesce To Pressure From Importers? Little Publicized Customs Proposal To Change 'First-Sale' Rule Would Lead To Big Increases In Duties
Manufacturing News
• Comment: "The current system puts domestic producers and their workforce "at a disadvantage," says AMTAC. "Because the proposed interpretation bases transaction value on the last sale occurring prior to the introduction of goods in to the United States, the proposed interpretation is more closely aligned with the legislative purpose of the tariff to raise revenue and support numerous U.S. policy objectives....The proposed interpretation is easier for CBP to administer. Less fact-finding by CBP is required."AMTAC studied the customs laws in various countries and found that many countries assess duties on the final transaction value of the goods headed into their markets, including Japan, Korea, Brazil, China, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand and South Africa. Even the EU and Canada have similar language in their Customs law, AMTAC notes." | |
China may halve export growth this year, government experts say
Earthtimes.org
• Comment: "Export growth is likely to reduce to about 10 per cent, down from nearly 26 per cent last year, the Shanghai Securities News quoted a report by economists under the Ministry of Commerce as saying.
The economists forecast a fall to about 200 billion dollars in China's 2008 trade surplus after a surplus of 262 billion dollars last year, the report said." | |
Chinese firms bargain hunting in U.S.
Los Angeles Times
• Comment: "About the only major thing that's more expensive in Spartanburg is labor. Liu is looking to offer $12 to $13 an hour there, versus about $2 an hour in Dongguan, not including room and board. But Liu expects to offset some of the higher labor costs with a payroll tax credit of $1,500 per employee from South Carolina."I was surprised," said the 63-year-old president of Shanxi Yuncheng Plate-Making Group. "The gap's not as large as I thought."Liu is part of a growing wave of Chinese entrepreneurs expanding into the U.S. From Spartanburg to Los Angeles they are building factories, buying companies and investing in business and real estate." | |
Impasse at GM's Fairfax - workers walk over seniority issues
Fresno Bee | |
Auto cos making beeline for global design houses
Economictimes
• Comment: "As global auto manufacturing shifts to Asia with new Chinese and Indian auto companies and contract manufacturing drying up in Europe and North America, design firms are setting up offices in India to focus on back-end operations and execute labour-intensive aspects, post the ideation stage. Ideation, however, will still continue to be done at the headquarters, say some design experts that ET spoke to." | |
Northland closing plant in Richmond, consolidating in Mich.
WANE-TV | |
| Sunday, May 04, 2008 |
Foss Mfg. shines as beacon of U.S. hope
Seacoast Online
• Comment: "In many ways, Foss Manufacturing shines as a beacon of what was good in America and could be again. In a time when too many Americans latently rely on false hope of politicians' promises, here is a group of industry leaders doing it, not talking about it, not blaming others."They were waiting for us to die," David Rowell, executive vice president of sales at Foss, said of foreign competitors. "They were waiting for us to close the doors. We are not going to lie down and die and let our manufacturing jobs in the U.S. fade away so our children and our children's children do not have jobs." | |
| Saturday, May 03, 2008 |
Protection from Chinese imports to be introduced
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
• Comment: "We want to set up a process where Congress can review a trade decision by the president, and even overturn it. This will balance the standards for trade relief a little better. It will create a system for fair trade that a reasonable person might embrace," Rep. Phil English, R-Erie, said about the proposed bill, The Supporting America's Manufacturers Act.
The bill, which Rep. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, says he will introduce next week, will create a congressional overview of the president's decisions whether to provide temporary relief in the form of import duties and restrictions to U.S. companies whose markets have been disrupted by a flood of Chinese imports. English will be the lead Republican co-sponsor."
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Lewistown Tries To Recover From Another Plant Closing
ABC 27
• Comment: "Residents say jobs have been leaving this area in droves recently. The closing of the nearby Fairmount Products plant was announced two weeks ago...it is expected to affect 80 workers. The New Holland closing affected around 450 workers. People that would normally take those jobs have to take jobs normally taken by younger workers." | |
April U.S. Job Loss Softer Than Feared; Unemployment Falls
Yahoo! Canada
• Comment: "Payrolls shrank by 20,000 in April vs. Wall Street views for a drop of 75,000. Job losses usually are much worse in a recession.
Also, the jobless rate fell 0.1 point to 5% from March's 21/2-year high. Analysts had predicted unemployment would tick up to 5.2%."
| |
Northland closing plant in Ind., consolidating in Mich.
Battle Creek Enquirer
• Comment: "About 130 jobs will be lost when high-end refrigerator maker Northland Corp. closes its Marvel plant in Richmond, Ind., and consolidates its operations in Michigan, the company said today." | |
For all the benefits of our free-trade policies, country still pays a price
Minneapolis Star Tribune | |
