Tara Bozick, WSLS 10
Unfortunately, the story of the loss of Dan River Inc. isn’t unique.
Cheap imports, overseas labor, big-box retailers and U.S. trade policy culminated in not just the demise of Dan River, but of U.S. textiles and ultimately, undermined American manufacturing, industry advocates said.
Updates
04/25/11
Steve Bennish, Ken McCall and Tim Tresslar, Springfield News-Sun
DAYTON — Since 2000, Ohio’s total annual private payroll dropped by $22 billion when adjusted for inflation, a devastating economic implosion that hit every aspect of Ohio’s economy — from grocery stores, restaurants and retail to government budgets and beyond. As one telling indicator, the Ohio Department of Education said the proportion of youngsters receiving federally subsidized school lunches has reached a record high of four for every 10 students.
04/22/11
K. Scarpati, Supply Chain Digital
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, new data from the U.S. Commerce Department shows that multinational corporations in the United States trimmed their domestic workforce by nearly three million jobs during the last decade.
04/22/11
Hwang Doo-hyong, Yonhap News
WASHINGTON, April 21 (Yonhap) -- The Obama administration has dismissed calls by some congressmen for South Korea to allow wider access to its beef market before the ratification of a pending free trade deal.
"The beef issue remains a top priority for the administration, and we will continue to urge Korea to open
04/21/11
Fareed Zakaria, CNN.com
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that U.S. firms are shifting hiring abroad:
U.S. multinational corporations, the big brand-name companies that employ a fifth of all American workers, have been hiring abroad while cutting back at home, sharpening the debate over globalization's effect on the U.S. economy.
04/21/11
Richard Cohen, Politico
The White House’s free trade negotiations with South Korea, Colombia and Panama are about to look like a piece of cake, compared to the work ahead to get House Democrats to agree on the details.
Already Republicans are on board, another show of President Barack Obama’s ability to work with the GOP while irking his party’s liberal base.
04/20/11
Specialty fabrics manufacturers to Congress: "Jobs are at stake!"
Sun Herald
At a time when the U.S. is facing record unemployment, a group of specialty fabrics manufacturers is engaging in everything short of a bake sale in Washington, D.C. to draw attention to the latest fight for some of the last jobs still standing.
04/20/11
David Dayen, Firedog Lake
The Obama Administration moved forward on a free trade agreement with Panama today, satisfying the final condition put up by Republicans to allow Congressional action on stalled trade agreements with South Korea and Colombia. The White House supplied a fact sheet on the deal. The sticking point with Colombia was the murder of trade unionists and organizers; the sticking point with Panama was its rampant use as a US tax shelter. As part of the deal, the US and Panama implemented a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) that will in theory improve the exchange of information on tax dodgers. There are also claims of new protections for workers’ rights in Panama, similar to the Colombia assurances.
04/19/11
Todd Tucker, Foreign Policy
When Barack Obama was elected back in 2008, he committed to breaking with the same flawed trade policy the United States has followed for a generation. Obama promised a new page, one that focused on creating American jobs and protecting the environment. Instead, his administration has flip-flopped on these campaign promises and is now pushing free trade agreements (FTAs) that are projected to cost American jobs, undermine U.S. negotiating credibility, and could even dampen the president's electoral prospects in 2012.
04/18/11
Ben Smith, Politico
AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka -- normally a steadfast ally of President Obama and congressional Democrats -- aired his differences with the administration in a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill last week and reiterated his complaints on MSNBC today, criticizing the administration over pending free trade agreements and the President's own spending plan.
