A recent article in The New York Times took me back to the latter decades of the 20th century and the debates over free trade agreements. The 1988 federal election was fought over the issue and the free-trade side led by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney won the day. A free
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The Cracked Crystal Ball II: WhereIn Andrew Coyne MisCharacterizes Re-Shoring
I have always had an on-again/off-again relationship with Mr. Coyne’s writings. When he sits down and thinks an issue through its logical consequences, he can be incredibly insightful and make some really good points. Then there are the times when he misses the point of what something is because it
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Time to friend-shore?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently introduced a concept she referred to as “friend-shoring.” In her words, “Friend-shoring is the idea that countries that espouse a common set of values on international trade … should trade and get the benefits of trade.” She added that the idea was to ensure
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: On Free Trade
Even among left wing parties and progressive politicians trade is worshipped as the saviour of the world, but perhaps we should ask ourselves Is Trade Evil ? After we do that we can consider the question of free trade and free trade agreements. We need to seriously look at the
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Did the Chinese learn their trade antics from the U.S.?
The China/U.S. trade war heats up. The rest of us get dragged along willy-nilly. Nonetheless, there is a lot of sympathy for the American case. The Chinese have hardly walked their talk about being free traders. Ont the contrary, they have engaged in a number of nefarious trade practices. They
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: China’s Long Game – Waiting for Trump to Bring Down the United States
China’s economic prowess is just part of its rivalry with the United States. This is a standard part of an ascending power taking its rightful place alongside a once-dominant power. According to research analyst, Laban Yu, Trump’s trade war won’t stop China’s long game. “China can only conclude that the
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: The problems with progressive free trade and a divided labour movement
…And we’re back to regularly-scheduled programming. Apologies for the podcasting hiatus to (now really faithful) listeners; I hope to be back to regular episodes once again. I’m restarting the show this week with two great guests. First up, I speak with Angella MacEwen about the on-going NAFTA re-negotiations and whether
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Thanks to Donald Trump, the post-war American imperium that’s run like a Swiss watch is coming unsprung!
PHOTOS: U.S. President Donald Trump’s inaugural parade makes its way through Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2017, just before the stuff hit the fan and everything went to hell in a handbasket. (Photo: United States Navy.) Below: President Trump, former president Barack Obama, the late Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau,
Continue readingThings Are Good: Fighting Myths of the 1%
Income inequality has been growing since the 2008 self-inflicted bank chaos, indeed that banking stupidity from 2008 accelerated the growing gap. The inequity was so obvious that the Occupy Wall Street protests took the streets and the public consciousness of “the 1%” grew out of it. Sadly, politicians failed to
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Canada’s international trade agreements should prioritize women’s rights
For the Trudeau government’s ambitious feminist international assistance policy to succeed, Canada’s trade agreements should champion women’s leadership, human rights, and gender equality. The post Canada’s international trade agreements should prioritize women’s rights appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Candidate’s proposal to kick B.C. out of New West Partnership is likely to delight West Coast Dippers
PHOTOS: UCP leadership candidate Doug Schweitzer, grabbed from his campaign website. Below: B.C. NDP Premier John Horgan (Wikimedia Commons), Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley, and former WCP president Jeff Callaway. Supporters of United Conservative Party leadership candidate Doug Schweitzer shouldn’t get their hopes up that threatening to kick British Columbia
Continue readingThings Are Good: Respecting Human Rights When Negotiating Trade Deals
money Donald Trump ran a campaign that championed the need to renegotiate the North American Free trade Agreement (NAFTA) to better help Americans. Trump’s erratic behaviour means we won’t know if NAFTA will ever be renegotiated, however the need to talk about trade in a new lens is needed (of
Continue readingThe Political Road Map: Trump’s Hardwood on Trade
Yesterday, it was announced that a 24% tariff would be applied to Canadian softwood lumber entering the United States. You may recognize the term softwood lumber, as it has been mentioned various times in the media throughout the years, in fact, this topic goes back to the 1980’s, where tariffs
Continue readingThe Political Road Map: Angry Trump and NAFTA-GATE
We knew this was coming for a while now. Selfies, smiles and handshakes aside, we all knew that the time would arrive that saw Donald Trump targeting Canada, for something outrageous and emotionally inspired. Yesterday was that day, as Donald Trump held a new conference to directly name Canada, as
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Katha Pollitt reviews Matthew Desmond’s Evicted, and identifies the problem that profiteers have a vested interest in perpetuating poverty: What if the dominant discourse on poverty is just wrong? What if the problem isn’t that poor people have bad morals – that they’re
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: No, Canada’s economy will not collapse if Trudeau stands up to Trump
Trudeau met Trump on Monday but voiced no criticism. He stayed mum on Trump’s racist travel bans for Muslims and refugees—silent even about Canadian Muslims being arbitrarily denied entry at the US border. Many commentators in the media were quick to jump to Trudeau’s defense, excusing his total lack of spine with considerations
Continue readingTPP—trading down?
According to its proponents, the "trade" agreement the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will generate economic benefits to all parties by eliminating obstacles to trade and investment.
A study out of Tufts University—Trading Down: Unemployment, Inequality and Other Risks of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement—offers another opinion. The Tufts’ economists made their projections using the
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Alan Austin: How badly has Canada’s economy deteriorated since the last election?
With a few days to go before the Oct. 19 federal election, Australian freelance journalist Alan Austin debunks Stephen Harper’s claim that Canada’s economy is “the envy of the entire world”. The post Alan Austin: How badly has Canada’s economy deteriorated since the last election? appeared first on The Canadian
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Podcast: Cutting through Canada’s election fog, where’s inequality, climate change and free trade?
http://rozworski.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Podcast151012-Elections-TPP.mp3 This week’s podcast is a Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives double-header. The CCPA has been an invaluable resource for alternative economic and political analysis for decades and I always enjoy highlighting their work. First up, I speak with Seth Klein, the director of the Centre’s British Columbia office, on how inequality
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: The media love the TPP, but should you?
My piece on the mainstream media’s trade deal boosterism was published at Ricochet yesterday. Canada’s media have heaped fawning praise on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the biggest free trade and investment deal in years. Rather than raising questions and red flags over a secret deal with mixed impacts, our media has been
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