Free Trade Agreements

What Are They Trying to Hide?

Michael Brune | Posted 05.04.2012

Michael Brune

Odds are that you haven't heard of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. And even if you've heard of it, I'm willing to bet you don't know what might be in it.

Why Is the TPP Such a Big Secret?

Tim Robertson | Posted 05.07.2012

Tim Robertson

The only way the corporate shopping list that is the TPP can get past public scrutiny is if no one ever hears about it. Fortunately, activists are fighting back.

Obama Praises Controversial Free Trade Deal

AP | JULIE PACE | Posted 04.15.2012

CARTAGENA, Colombia — Exposing a rift with Israel, President Barack Obama on Sunday insisted that the United States has not "given anything away...

Free Trade or Democracy, Can't Have Both

Dave Johnson | Posted 05.01.2012

Dave Johnson

When we allow companies to just import stuff that is made by exploited workers in countries where people do not have a say, we are granting not-having-a-say an advantage over having a say. We make democracy a competitive disadvantage.

Getting Around Geithner

Sarah Anderson | Posted 04.29.2012

Sarah Anderson

In the wake of the worst financial crisis in 80 years, I thought it would be a no-brainer for the U.S. government to give up its longstanding policy of banning capital controls through trade agreements.

Europe's ACTA Freak Out: How Hollywood Holds Back the Trade Agenda

Harold Feld | Posted 04.18.2012

Harold Feld

Whenever there is an international trade agreement negotiation, Hollywood jumps in, takes over, and starts driving the crazy train off a cliff by demanding all kinds of nonsense in the name of "stopping piracy."

Insourcing Infrastructure: A Local Transit Director's Plan to Bring Back Jobs

Tim Robertson | Posted 04.16.2012

Tim Robertson

"Many jobs these days require a B.A., a series of unpaid internships, and a graduate degree. Most young people cannot afford to put in that much time and take on that much debt. If we create another path with a shorter timeline, young people will be more likely to stay in school."

How, Exactly, Does Trade Bring Prosperity?

Stan Sorscher | Posted 03.12.2012

Stan Sorscher

I work for a labor union in the aerospace industry. We are 100% in favor of trade. We make products the rest of the world wants to buy. With increas...

China And Japan Agree To Start Talks On Free Trade Deal

Posted 12.25.2011

BEIJING (Reuters) - Japan and China agreed to start formal talks early next year on a free trade pact that would also include South Korea, Japanes...

What Are the Positions of Presidential Candidates on Trade?

Michele Nash-Hoff | Posted 02.20.2012

Michele Nash-Hoff

We need to let all the candidates for president know that we don't want any more free trade agreements. We need to let them know that we want them to support the American manufacturing industry and stop giving our wealth and jobs to foreign countries.

U.S., EU Consider Free Trade Talks

Posted 11.30.2011

The United States and European Union agreed Tuesday to reduce red tape related to cargo security and pledged to work toward tearing down tariffs a...

Why Free Trade Isn't Trade

Ian Fletcher | Posted 01.19.2012

Ian Fletcher

The U.S. continues to lurch down the rubble-strewn path of free-trade fantasy economics, signing yet more trade agreements when the ones we already have haven't delivered as promised.

State of Siege USA: Why Would They Target #Occupy Now?

Richard (RJ) Eskow | Posted 01.15.2012

Richard (RJ) Eskow

Suddenly the Occupy movement is under siege everywhere. Why now? It could be nothing more than one heck of a coast-to-coast coincidence, at least theoretically speaking.

America's Pacific Century?

Tina Gerhardt | Posted 01.14.2012

Tina Gerhardt

As international attention focuses on the economic situation of the EU -- the rollercoaster political-economic ride of events unfolding in Greece and ...

What Can I do to "save" American Manufacturing?

Michele Nash-Hoff | Posted 12.25.2011

Michele Nash-Hoff

You may feel that there is nothing you can do as an individual to stop the total destruction of American manufacturing and watch the United States go ...

Global Trade: Not What You Think?

Efraim Chalamish | Posted 12.26.2011

Efraim Chalamish

As Congress approved three Free Trade Agreements (also known as Trade Pacts) with South Korea, Panama, and Colombia, I get the impression that there are two leading narratives.

Free Trade Agreements Mean Job Losses in the Other Country as Well

Bill Ong Hing | Posted 12.17.2011

Bill Ong Hing

Labor groups argue that the FTAs will result in more U.S. job losses. Obscured by the the debate, however, is the potential for negative economic effects in the partner countries as well.

Job-Killing Trade Deals Pass Congress Amidst Record Democratic Opposition

Lori Wallach | Posted 12.13.2011

Lori Wallach

With 9 percent unemployment and Americans desperate for job creation, it is unconscionable that President Obama and House Republicans just shoved through a trio of NAFTA-style job-killing trade agreements.

Bipartisan Fail: Politicians Ignore the People and Double Down on Corporate "Free Trade" At Their Own Peril

Curtis Ellis | Posted 12.13.2011

Curtis Ellis

So much for bipartisanship. Democrats and Republicans in Congress have approved the one part of President Obama's jobs agenda voters hate the most.

Ryan Grim

Congress Somehow Figures Out How To Work

HuffingtonPost.com | Ryan Grim | Posted 12.12.2011

WASHINGTON - Congress -- if you listen to pundits and Washington politicians -- is completely broken. But when multinational corporate interests are a...

Free Trade Agreements: Creating Jobs and Reinforcing Strategic Alliances

Dina Siegel Vann | Posted 12.12.2011

Dina Siegel Vann

It is high time for Congress to pass the pending agreements. This gesture will reinforce ties by broadcasting our country's ongoing commitment to the welfare of the Americas. Failure to vote approval will surely undermine friendly governments and trading partners and harm American interests.

Is Herman Cain Any Good on Trade? You Try Figuring It Out

Ian Fletcher | Posted 12.07.2011

Ian Fletcher

Maybe Herman Cain, the latest boomlet in the GOP presidential race, will be elected president. Or maybe his 15 minutes of fame have just arrived. Either way, it behooves us to see what he thinks about America's trade mess.

Panama, Colombia, Korea: Obama Makes a Bad Trade Situation Worse

Ian Fletcher | Posted 12.06.2011

Ian Fletcher

This Monday, Obama submitted the long-pending Colombia, Panama, and South Korea free trade agreements to Congress. I didn't have my hopes up, but I did harbor the vague hope that somehow Obama was going to stall on these.

The U.S.-Colombia FTA: Still a Bad Deal for Human Rights

Lisa Haugaard | Posted 12.04.2011

Lisa Haugaard

In Washington, Congress is nearing a vote on the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement. Human rights, labor, environmental and faith-based groups agree: this agreement is a bad deal for human rights in Colombia.

Obama Flip-Flops Off Trade Cliff

Lori Wallach | Posted 12.04.2011

Lori Wallach

At this point, that Obama did a total flip-flop on very specific, written, repeated campaign promises -- in this instance to replace the old damaging trade model starting with fixing these three deals -- is not news.