Tag: trade

President Trump’s claim that China caused 60,000 U.S. factories to close

The following article by Salvador Rizzo was posted on the Washington Post website March 26, 2018:

The president has harsh words about trade imbalances, but his numbers don’t always add up. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

“We’ve lost, over a fairly short period of time, 60,000 factories in our country — closed, shuttered, gone. Six million jobs, at least, gone.”
— President Trump, in remarks at the White House announcing tariffs on Chinese imports, March 22, 2018

Long before he was president, Donald Trump complained that China was “taking all our jobs.” Now, with the executive branch at his command, Trump is getting even with a plan to impose $50 billion to $60 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports. Continue reading “President Trump’s claim that China caused 60,000 U.S. factories to close”

Labor groups step up pressure on Trump to deliver

The following article by David Weigel was posted on the Washington Post website August 20, 2017:

Credit:  AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Labor leaders, once courted by President Trump, are stepping up their campaign to turn workers against the White House if it does not deliver more on jobs and trade — and if it does not stop undoing Obama-era regulations.

The most visible effort, which starts in Indianapolis on Monday afternoon, is a two-week tour organized by the coalition Good Jobs Nation that ropes in labor-friendly politicians. The coalition, launched in 2013 to pressure Barack Obama’s White House on trade and wage issues, is organizing rallies throughout the Midwest through Labor Day.

“Trump ran as a working-class hero, so let’s look at the results,” said Joseph Geevarghese, Good Jobs Nation’s executive director. “We’re seven months into his administration, and wages are flat. People are still getting pink slips.” Continue reading “Labor groups step up pressure on Trump to deliver”

On Trade, a Politically Feisty Trump Risks Economic Damage

The following article by Peter S. Goodman was posted on the New York Times website April 30, 2017:

Trucks waiting to enter the United States at the border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, in February. Credit Jorge Duenes/Reuters

As political theater, the threat last week from the Trump administration that it would pull the United States out of the North American Free Trade Agreement effectively enhanced the White House story line. From the campaign through his first 100 days in office, President Trump adroitly exploited the most conspicuous downsides of trade in portraying himself as a hero to those who go to work in coveralls.

But as economic policy, the feisty words — quickly downgraded to a pledge to “renegotiate” terms of trade with Mexico and Canada — potentially imperil significant swaths of the American economy. Continue reading “On Trade, a Politically Feisty Trump Risks Economic Damage”