Third Way Perspectives
Posts Tagged ‘United States’
Opening Russia
March 29th, 2012
This piece was originally posted on The Huffington Post.
The World Trade Organization currently has 153 members, ranging from the United States and China, to Uruguay and Ukraine. The WTO is not an exclusive club. Venezuela, run by America-hating strongman Hugo Chavez, is a member. And plenty of other WTO countries have kings, presidents-for-life or juntas that are not making names for themselves as statesmen or democrats. Still, despite its varied membership, the WTO does play a vital role in opening markets and enforcing rules against unfair trade.
This summer, Russia will become the WTO’s newest member. Congress will have no say in the matter. But Russia’s WTO accession will nevertheless pose a quandary for Congress and for American exports. Current U.S. law would put American companies at a real disadvantage in exporting to Russia once it joins the WTO. Unless Congress acts to change the law, as President Obama and Congressional leaders have urged, American jobs in companies doing business with Russia — and the potential for tens of thousands more — will be at risk.
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Bennett & Rosner: Democrats and National Security
June 3rd, 2010
This piece was originally published in Politico.
Slightly more than 10 days ago, a U.S. airstrike killed Sheikh Said Al-Masri, Al Qaeda’s third in command. He was the highest level Al Qaeda operative to be “removed from the battlefield,” as the military puts it. The Wall Street Journal actually said in its editorial: “another success for the Obama administration.”
What Would Art Vandelay Do?
March 11th, 2010
This piece was originally published on The Huffington Post.
U.S. businesses and many in Congress have long complained that our export promotion and export enforcement efforts are not strategic, well-coordinated or well-funded. Increasing U.S. exports is a vital part of promoting economic growth that benefits all Americans, including the Middle Class. There is much work still to do to ensure that the United States has smart, progressive policies in support of trade. However, the Administration’s new export agenda is an excellent start.
Cooling Trend
December 18th, 2009
Originally published in National Journal
The world leaders who just met in Copenhagen were trying to prove Mark Twain was wrong. Twain allegedly said, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” Twain may win that argument. Sarah Palin certainly thinks so. She wrote in The Washington Post, “The agenda-driven policies pushed in Copenhagen won’t change the weather, but they would change our economy for the worse.”