Politics

An emerging narrative in 2012 is that a proliferation of protectionist, treaty-violating, or otherwise illiberal Chinese policies is to blame for worsening U.S.-China relations. China trade experts from across the ideological and political spectra have lent credibility to that story. Business groups that once counseled against U.S. government actions that might be perceived by the...

January was a busy month for international trade initiatives in Washington. The Obama Administration made proposals aimed at creating a special trade enforcement center and increasing supply chain security. The proposals contain minimal details. Nevertheless, each proposal gives some insight into the Administration’s trade priorities.

What is NAFTA really about? This might seem a silly question. NAFTA is about trade, right? It’s the North American Free Trade Agreement after all. But what if it’s not really mainly about trade at all? Thinking chiefly in terms of trade might actually obscure the real point.

China’s current administration is in a relatively stable position having engineered an apparently successful soft landing of the economy following the global economic crisis. Its main political objectives have been maintained, while increasingly focusing on the economic transformation to ensure sustainable long-term development.

Customs is about to get new responsibilities in the antidumping and countervailing duty (“AD/CVD”) areas that will require the agency to undertake evasion investigations. This could lead to substantial additional liabilities for importers. However, companies that recognize the threat to their bottom line, and act to remove it, will be at a competitive advantage when […]

Too many U.S. policymakers, from Capitol Hill to the various executive branch agencies in Washington, tend to focus on foreign policies and foreign barriers when considering how best to improve the competitive prospects for U.S. firms. The presumption is that the major impediments to the success of U.S. firms are foreign born. Closed foreign markets...

Exports are increasingly important to the United States's economy and American companies for a variety of reasons. For example, Martin Feldstein, Harvard Professor...

Last year, over $1 million worth of goods crossed our northern border every minute of every day. And that doesn’t include trade in services. As a result, Canada, with a population of 34.3 million, continues to be the United States’ largest trading partner. What’s more, Canada is the biggest merchandise export market for 34 American...

From the Korean War to Operation Just Cause in Panama to Plan Colombia, the U.S. has expended lives and treasure to protect Colombia, Panama, and South Korea from Communist aggression, narco-violence, insurgency, and misrule. The investment has paid off.

U.S. manufacturing employment has declined from a high of 19.5 million workers in 1979 to 11.7 million in May 2011. For many policymakers and much of the media, this is believed to be the result of offshoring: moving U.S. production to low-cost countries in search of cheap labor. In turn, many say the American manufacturing...

A primary economic problem poor countries typically incur is not too much global economic integration, but rather, their lack of it. This coupled with the absence of freedom is a recipe for poor growth prospects, high unemployment, hopelessness, and ultimately, revolution. History is replete with examples.

The American transportation infrastructure—including ports, roads, rail and airports—is in poor shape. In fact, according to a bipartisan panel of experts and two former secretaries of transportation, Norman Mineta and Samuel Skinner, an additional $134 billion to $262 billion must be spent per year through 2035 to rebuild roads, rail systems and air transportation...

As we enter 2011, the American public is not feeling good about the future. According to a 2010 year-end Rasmussen Reports survey, a provider of public opinion polling information, only 31 percent of respondents said the country was headed in the right direction. A second December survey indicated that Americans were less optimistic about 2011...

Today’s post-recessionary economic realities combined with dynamic global trends are impacting virtually every aspect of our lives—and certainly the profitability of our businesses. Unless organizations understand the following five realities and adapt, succeeding in the years ahead will be extremely difficult.

As I write this commentary, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down. But this isn’t really about the stock market; it’s about three recent news items. First, a special session that prevented our nation’s leaders from their August recess added another $26 billion to government spending. Second, the Federal Reserve formally announced its decision to […]

Surprising to many, the United States manufacturing sector is not being hollowed out. With the exception of the recent recession when all U.S. industries experienced poor economic growth, U.S. manufacturing has been breaking its own record, year after year, with respect to output, value-added, profits, returns on investment, exports, and imports, says Dan Ikenson, associate...

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (HR 4213). This bill will hurt American workers, reduce American exports, and make American companies less competitive in the international marketplace. Since the U.S. Senate has already passed companion legislation, the American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act (S 3336), […]

<p>On February 4, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke fleshed out the details of President Obama’s National Export Initiative (NEI), a plan unveiled in the 2010 State of the Union address that promises to double U.S. exports over the next five years and support two million American jobs. The NEI aims to bolster U.S. international competitiveness by [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Many American business people are experiencing the most challenging economic conditions they have ever incurred. In turn, every effort is focused on getting the business moving again, returning to profitability, being creative and working longer hours. So why bother with human resource development at this crucial time? Because your workforce is the differentiator between you [&hellip;]</p>

In order to gain a greater understanding of corporate actions, most American companies agree they need to more effectively communicate today’s economic realities and, in that context, their response. To an increasing degree, foreign companies need to do the same in their home markets, as well as in the non-domestic markets where they do business...