Tag: Protectionism
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Forget ‘Buy American’? U.S. Retailers Push an ‘Imports Work’ Campaign
Time: Forget 'Buy American'? U.S. Retailers Push an 'Imports Work' Campaign … You may not have noticed, but last week was promoted as something called "Imports Work Week." The celebrate the importance of imports in the U.S., a group of business associations led by the National Retail Federation (NRF) has released a study showing the…
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Sugar Subsidy Remains by Three Votes
Businessweek: Sugar Subsidy Remains in Farm Bill After Amendment Defeated The Senate rejected an amendment backed by snack-food and beverage companies that would have phased out federal government aid to U.S. sugar growers, including marketing quotas and import restrictions. Today’s vote was 50-46 in favor of tabling the amendment, effectively killing the plan. Unlike other…
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The old delusion of protectionism
Boston Globe: The old delusion of protectionism … It is certainly true that people’s jobs are affected by consumers’ choices. If customers stay away in droves from Chinese hose attachments, it might well mean more work for an American hose and belting manufacturer. But why stop there? In addition to boycotting goods and services made…
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Don’t Blame “Free Trade” for Losses of Sweet Jobs in Hershey, PA: Blame Sour Sugar Policy
Victor Claar's Economics Blog: Don't Blame "Free Trade" for Losses of Sweet Jobs in Hershey, PA: Blame Sour Sugar Policy As a campaign-season article by Max Deveson for the BBC pointed out, unionized workers in Hershey, Pennsylvania blame free trade for the potential relocation of hundreds of jobs from dear sweet Hershey to Mexico. Their…
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G7 pledges to avoid protectionism
BBC: G7 pledges to avoid protectionism Leading industrial countries have pledged to avoid protectionism as they battle the global economic crisis. Finance ministers at a G7 meeting in Italy said raising barriers to free trade would make the downturn worse. Hours earlier, the US Congress approved an $787bn economic recovery plan that includes a 'Buy…
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It’s No Time for Protectionism
New York Times: It's No Time for Protectionism Greg Mankiw WHAT approach will the Obama administration and the Democratic majority in Congress take on international economic policy? It is too early to say for sure, but the signs so far are worrying. Just before his confirmation as Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner turned up the…
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The return of economic nationalism
The Economist: The return of economic nationalism A spectre is rising. To bury it again, Barack Obama needs to take the lead. MANAGING a crisis as complex as this one has so far called for nuance and pragmatism rather than stridency and principle. Should governments prop up credit markets by offering guarantees or creating bad…
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Just say no to ‘crack cocaine of economics’
CNN Money: Just say no to 'crack cocaine of economics' Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher warns against protectionism's dangerous high. WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher warned on Monday against "Buy America" provisions in a proposed fiscal stimulus law and said it could lead to devastating trade protectionism. "Let me just…
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The New Protectionism
Anthony Faiola writes in the Washington Post: The stimulus bill passed by the House last night contains a controversial provision that would mostly bar foreign steel and iron from the infrastructure projects laid out by the $819 billion economic package. A Senate version, yet to be acted upon, goes further, requiring, with few exceptions, that…
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Leaders Go Left, But Economists Get Back To Basics
Forbes: Leaders Go Left, But Economists Get Back To Basics William Easterly In trying times, even protectionists go free market. The conventional view at Davos is that a previous consensus in favor of free enterprise has taken a huge beating from the Great Crash of 2008-2009. What is much less known is that many economists…