Conservatives play an essential role as gatekeepers. Vetting some of the left's perspectives and ideas, even in this polarized environment, could resonate with their base.
Plus, who are the "Proud Boys?"
Plus, the phone booth baby finds his mom.
Hosted by Charlie Sykes.
Hosted by Charlie Sykes.
We've reached tit-for-tat-for-tit in the president's trade war.
Congress could in theory have a greater say on tariffs. Don’t hold your breath.
Hosted by Charlie Sykes.
The real action with spies nowadays lies not with Russia but with China.
Republicans are increasingly fed up with Trump’s protectionist trade agenda.
The White House aims at Chinese trade practices, hits Americans.
When is a steel tariff not a steel tariff? How about when it exempts two-thirds of steel imports?
Another day, another high-profile White House departure. Gary Cohn, President Trump’s chief economic adviser, is leaving the Trump administration—a serious shakeup in a White House where protectionist economics are suddenly on the rise.
You are going to pay more for your next washing machine. To understand why, let’s look at what happened at Whirlpool’s headquarters in Benton Harbor, Mich., in 2011. The company was feeling pressure from foreign competition. Its stock price had fallen by half. It had announced plans to slash 5,000…
Trade experts, lawmakers, and investors panicked across the board Wednesday night after Reuters reported Canadian officials were increasingly convinced President Donald Trump is planning to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement.
While U.S. politics have witnessed any number of distressing trends in recent years, one of the more disturbing is the decline in support among Republicans for free trade. The rise of Donald Trump, who regularly blamed American economic ills on China and trade deals such as the North American Free…
When President Trump talks tough on trade to one or several of our “partners,” he is being rude and wrecking the world trading system—in the words of the New York Times, adopting a “starkly unilateralist approach.” Yet when he politely raises America’s problems with that system in private, praises…
It’s put-up or shut-your-tweet time for the president. He has been promising to Make America Great Again by replacing free trade with protectionism, and now has enough opportunities to do just that in cases involving aircraft, dishwashers, solar panels, steel and cars from Korea and, of course,…
Whirlpool’s washing machine division has been rapidly losing market share to Korean competitors Samsung and LG. The company’s response is a reflection of the upside-down times we live in and a cautionary tale about interfering with free markets.
There is little doubt among economic forecasters that over the medium term, Asia's emerging economies—China and India foremost among them—are expected to drive global economic growth. Taken as one, the region from India to Japan is not only the biggest market for raw materials, energy, and the…
There is little doubt among economic forecasters that over the medium term, Asia's emerging economies—China and India foremost among them—are expected to drive global economic growth. Taken as one, the region from India to Japan is not only the biggest market for raw materials, energy, and the…
There is something dispiriting about the debate over trade policy, and the problem does not lie with Donald Trump, or his tweets, or his on-again, off-again threats to various trading partners, or his fickle choice of partners to head the negotiating queue: EU to the front, Brexiting Britain to the…
After the Trump administration announced on Monday it will impose tariffs of up to 24 percent on Canadian lumber, the National Association of Home Builders said it was "deeply disappointed in this short-sighted action." A previous NAHB study suggested such tariffs would raise the price of new homes…
Shortly after noon on January 20, America's newly installed president issued a declaration of war against global free trade. "We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great…
Shortly after noon on January 20, America's newly installed president issued a declaration of war against global free trade. "We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great…
When Donald Trump campaigned last spring in the Republican primaries, he touted his tax cuts in a special way. To give them credibility, he would declare proudly that economist Larry Kudlow loved them.
Protectionism, I once said to Irving Kristol, is a bad idea. It benefits producers, but it harms consumers. “Where," he asked, "is it written that the welfare of consumers takes precedence over that of producers?" Reflection required, not a new experience after an encounter with Irving. And in this…
Despite innumerable and sharp disagreements between them, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have surprisingly congruent positions on free trade, both suggesting it has adversely affected jobs and wages in the United States.
Despite innumerable and sharp disagreements between them, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have surprisingly congruent positions on free trade, both suggesting it has adversely affected jobs and wages in the United States.
Why hasn't there been more disruption in Congress? Looking at the highly disruptive presidential primary campaign, some analysts are scratching their heads and asking that very question. In primary election after primary election, Republican congressional incumbents—such as Paul Ryan, John McCain,…
A surprising German poll showed Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) tied for second place with the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) just before this weekend's regional elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The incumbent Social Democrats are at 28 percent, the CDU and the…
Donald Trump has undeniably brought the issue of trade with China to the national stage. With Trump's good odds at becoming the GOP nominee, down-ballot candidates in the House and the Senate are indeed having to grapple with a changed landscape.
For anyone who has followed Donald Trump on the stump, undoubtedly they've heard The Donald spin a tale of what he would do as president if, say, Ford plans to build a new plant outside of the United States.
"It was like an out-of-body experience,” Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell says. He was talking about his congratulatory phone call from President Obama after Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) passed the Senate last week. “It was kind of fun.” McConnell enjoyed hearing the president castigate…
Now that the Senate has approved legislation that would give President Barack Obama authority to complete a trade partnership agreement with Japan and 10 other Pacific nations later this year, the bill moves to the House for further debate. Its ultimate fate is in question, however—not only because…
THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer John McCormack on Elizabeth Warren's legislative defeat of the Trade Promotion Authority bill in the Senate earlier today.
Buried in the avalanche of Cuba and North Korea news was this revealing tidbit about the Obama administration's environmental priorities:
When it comes to military actions, President Obama likes to declare the end of wars, regardless of whether America’s opponents agree that is the case. When it comes to economic wars, he has no need to declare an end, no need for unilateral disarmament, because he never engages in the first place.…
There isn’t much left in life that is unregulated and without some degree of government supervision or protection. You get used to it, I suppose. And, anyway, you don’t have much choice. But you do need to pay attention because nothing is off limits.
Free traders are ecstatic. Negotiators at the 9th World Trade Organization ministerial conference in Bali cheered, hugged, and wept at what they see as the successful culmination of their recent round of talks. “A giant step for businesses large and small,” enthused the CEO of UPS. The…
Peggy Noonan examines the mini-furor over the manufacturing of the U.S. Olympic team's uniforms in ... China. It was, she believes, a missed opportunity to create a sensational political ad:
Some fear America is about to go protectionist. Others fear it won’t. Where you stand on this issue depends on where you sit. Sit in the chair of the CEO of a major exporter, and you fear protectionism and the ever-rising spiral of retaliations. Sit in the chair of the president of a trade union,…
On October 21, President Obama signed into law the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement (FTA), thereby giving American exporters greater access to one of South America’s fastest growing markets. The long, tiring debate over the FTA—which began five years ago, when the agreement was first…
During Tuesday night’s debate in New Hampshire, moderator Karen Tumulty challenged Mitt Romney on his recent tough talk on China. Romney says China is a “currency manipulator” and argues that, by setting unfair prices and allowing the theft of American intellectual property, the Chinese government…
For a while now, Obama's been mentioning in speeches that there are free-trade agreements that need to be ratified as away to create jobs and spur growth... while blaming Republicans for the hold up. Today, Mitch McConnell blasts Obama in the Washington Post for his blatant dishonesty on the issue:
The Obama administration finally announced earlier this week an agreement on the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, paving the way for its ratification. The Colombia FTA is long overdue, and President Obama’s change of heart is a welcome step for America and Colombia alike. As the White House notes,…
Despite high unemployment, the Obama administration has been slow to come up with an effective trade policy. It’s seemingly been trying with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, but its lack of success is startling.
It is, in a way, unsurprising that the president gave Bogota a brief nod during his State of the Union address. After all, In 2010 State of the Union address, the president claimed, “we will strengthen our trade relations in Asia and with key partners like South Korea and Panama and Colombia.” And,…
Former Republican presidential candidate John McCain had some sharp words about President Barack Obama’s policy toward Afghanistan earlier today at a conference in Washington. Presidents should not make decisions based on political calculations, McCain said, and that has been the problem with…
The New York Times reported (then it didn't!) that Barack Obama suffered an "embarrassing" set back in South Korea: “For President Obama, the last-minute failure to seal a trade deal with South Korea that would expand American exports of automobiles and beef is an embarrassing setback that deprives…
In recent years, Latin America’s trade with India, the world’s largest democracy, has grown much more slowly than its trade with China. However, the Latin Business Chronicle notes that “an increasing number of Indian companies are now looking at Latin America as the ‘next frontier.’” The quote…