judd's blog

Our middle class is the backbone of our national economy. But our middle class is under siege.  This situation is directly caused by the growth of our trade deficit, as thousands of our factories have been moved abroad. Guest blogger Todd Lipscomb of MadeinUSAForever.com writes that he saw firsthand that countries like China, Korea and Japan are purposely targeting the USA's manufacturing sector.

The U.S. is aggressively trying to advance the ‘mother of all FTAs’:  the so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).  TPP could very likely dwarf the negative impacts from all prior FTAs combined, including the still notorious multilateral NAFTA (which went into effect in 1994) and the multilateral CAFTA (signed in 2003), writes guest blogger Leo Hindery.

China is destined to overtake the United States as a global superpower, according to a recent global survey of 40,000 in 39 nations worldwide. The world, however, is not amused.

Doctors without Borders is none too thrilled about what’s transpiring behind closed doors at Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade talks. The international medical humanitarian group fears IP provisions concerning pharmaceuticals will end up restricting access to affordable medicines for million of the world’s low- and middle-income residents.

Late last month, the U.S. Senate officially confirmed Mike Froman, trusted White House advisor, as Ron Kirk’s replacement to lead the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. Though he’s new and vows to take the office into new directions, Froman’s rhetoric is far from original, according to at least one trade policy observer.

With the first round of negotiations over a proposed U.S. -European Union free trade agreement concluded, direct participants have already cast an expected optimistic spin on the deliberations, much to the skepticism of outside analysts who understand all too well what a feat creating the world’s largest trade zone will entail.

The emerging and evolving U.S.-European Union free trade treaty is probably the only such future pact that has the best prospects of producing a modicum of benefits for Americans. But that’s not saying much, as U.S. small business owners worry over whether they’ll reap any opportunities from it.

Maine-based New Balance, the only major U.S. athletic footwear company that manufactures a sizeable portion of its products on American soil, is actively playing up its "Made in the USA" distinction to expand marketshare over its "Made Everywhere But the USA" competitors. Go Team New Balance!

Our nation’s trade deficit hit its highest level so far in 2013 as a slowing global economy put downward pressure on U.S. exports while imports of autos and non-petroleum products hit all-time highs. Imbalance with China continues to grow. Ugh.

Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz takes a close look at the TransPacific Partnership and its sister, the TransAtlantic Partnership. What he sees isn't pretty: a manged trade scheme to benefit crony capitalists while lowering living standards for the rest of us. And it's all being cooked up in secret.