Breaking Waves
- W. Michael Cox, former chief economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, published an op-ed piece in the New York Times Wednesday about the vast importance of services in U.S. export trade. Drawing attention to President Obama’s gaffe of not mentioning services in his proposal for a National Export Initiative, Cox argues that the only way the United States can double exports in five years is by increasing exports of services.
- Fred Bergsten and Jeffrey Schott have released a paper giving strong support to the idea of the United States joining the Trans Pacific Partnership.
- ASEAN’s tariff cuts DO have an impact! Indonesia’s Sampoerna, a company that makes clove cigarettes, announced that it is closing a plant in Kuala Lumpur because the drop in duties makes it feasible to export their cigarettes directly from Indonesia to Malaysia.
- An Australian site, appropriately titled Import Export Made Easy, has a nice glossary of trade terms.
- I have posted several times about the lack of will, knowledge and interest in the Obama Administration and the U.S. Congress about the three already-negotiated free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. These FTAs mean thousands of jobs for Americans – and yet they are ignored by politicians who say they want to create jobs. Go figure. Read the op-ed piece published in Friday’s Wall Street Journal touting the U.S.-Korea FTA.
- I’m happy to give credit to the Obama Administration for its new initiative to encourage U.S. clothing brands and apparel retailers to buy at least 1% of their total apparel requirements from Haiti. Companies like Hanes and Gap are already on board.
- Enough of this serious stuff. The New York Times tells you where to find a good brew in Vietnam. It’s not just 888 anymore.
