TradeAs the US, Mexico, and Canada get closer to renegotiating NAFTA, the Administration's goals are ever more unclear.At his campaign-style rally in Phoenix, Trump declared that he anticipates complete withdrawal from the treaty will be likely, a prediction he reiterated when meeting with the Finnish Prime Minister on Monday. This may have been intended a bargaining ploy, but appears to have backfired.Mexican official have taken offence to this aggressive negotiating posture, and indicated they will not discuss renegotiation "with a gun to [their] head."The option is not popular in the US as well. A poll by Livingston International shows that only 6 percent of Americans support withdrawing from NAFTA. A like number want it renegotiated to "modernize" it (the term being used by the negotiating teams). All in all, only 13% of Americans feel it should be renegotiated for being unfair to Americans.Meanwhile there are several specific issues where the US position is unresolved as we ent...

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Introduction The August recess for Congress is here, making it a critical time for you to engage with your elected officials. Representatives began their break on July 28, and the Senate a few days later on August 3. Congress will be back in session after the Labor Day weekend on September 5.This document will arm you with the information you need to ask challenging, hard-hitting questions of your representatives at town halls, meetings or other events. The RISE Stronger Policy Working Group Program has prepared for you overviews of key topics on the national agenda across a range of areas, including the economy and jobs; education; energy and the environment; ethics and open government; foreign policy and national security; healthcare; infrastructure and urban policy; justice and civil liberties; science and technology; and trade and development. These key issues are summarized with background information and relevant questions for you to ask, as well as additional resources for yo...

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Canadian Lumber TariffsOn Monday, President Trump announced that the US is imposing countervailing tariffs on Canadian lumber producers. There has been a great deal of media coverage of this issue since then, including talk about possible Canadian retaliation and a trade war. Here's what you should know:Bottom line: The President is touting these tariffs as a sign of his strength on trade. However, these tariffs are the latest round in a thirty-year old trade dispute, and would not have come as a surprise under any President. It is unclear whether the President's strong language on the issue marks any significant change in policy, or is just bluster. Background:1: The basic principle of free trade is that imported goods should be able to compete on an even footing with domestic goods. Free trade implies that countries should not put tariffs in place to make imports more expensive or provide subsidies to exports. Under current international trade law, it is sometimes permissible for ...

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THE PAST TWO WEEKS: "BUY AMERICAN" CONTROVERSYThe Administration, some congressional leaders, and a few states have begun pushing for more "Buy American" provisions in state and federal spending. However, our treaty obligations require that the US not apply any sort of preference for domestic firms in any federal contracts over $10.1 million (the amount varies, but most of our treaties use this number). They also prevent those other governments from preventing US firms from competing for their business, something American companies do quite frequently.Were we to violate those treaty obligations (or withdraw from those treaties), we'd lose the ability to compete for business with foreign governments. We'd also end up paying higher prices (if the domestic firms' goods and services were cheaper, they'd have won the contracts in the first place). That extra spending has real cost; we have to raise taxes higher for the same public services, if we have these restrictions.These treaties do...

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Americans Support Trade with Other Countries - A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll recently asked voters "In general, do you think that free trade between the United States and foreign countries has helped the United States, has hurt the United States, or has not made much of a difference either way?"43% answered that it helped, while only 34% said that it had hurt. This is the highest proportion to be supportive of trade since the Wall Street Journal started asking the question in 2010. While the country is obviously torn on the issue, there is a solid plurality that thinks freer trade helps the US develop and prosper. This is in sharp contrast to the national narrative of a growing and overwhelming rejection of free trade, a perception that appears to be false.RECENT ACTIONS BY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION - Against that backdrop, Commerce Secretary Ross met with Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland on Thursday, and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal on Friday. R...

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As the US walks away from the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, the trade treaty the U.S. negotiated with many countries on the shores of the Pacific (Japan, Korea, Thailand, Australia, etc), Australia—usually one of our closest allies—has announced that it wants to move forward with the treaty, with or without the US. If the treaty is signed and ratified without the US, it will be much harder for our companies to export to Asia, as our competitors will, through that treaty, have a much easier time getting access to foreign markets.Additionally, our companies will not be able to import vital natural resources we don't have enough of at home, but competing businesses in other countries will, allowing them to lower their prices and out-compete us. Some of our companies may be forced to move more factories overseas to get access to those cheaper, tariff-free natural resources and components that they need in order to make their products.Australia is taking this step because it recog...

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