''When will we buy oil in euros?''

From 2003 and The Guardian
 

''The oil-dollar nexus is one of the foundations of the world economy that inevitably filters through to geopolitics. Recycling so-called petrodollars, the proceeds of these high oil prices, has helped the United States run its colossal trade deficits. But the past year has seen the quiet emergence of the 'petroeuro'.

Effectively, the normal standards of economics have not applied to the US, because of the international role of the dollar. Some $3 trillion (£1,880 billion) are in circulation around the world helping the US to run virtually permanent trade deficits. Two-thirds of world trade is dollar-denominated. Two-thirds of central banks' official foreign exchange reserves are also dollar-denominated.''

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''Taking Over From the US Dollar With Organic Finance''

From Daily Reckoning

''What do you think would happen if the US suddenly became competitive and financially prudent? What if it started producing trade surpluses? It would be disastrous for the global economy. Global liquidity would dry up...there would be a massive credit crunch.

So the system depends on US profligacy. The US may enjoy an 'exorbitant privilege' in the words of former French President Charles De Gaulle , but it's one that has benefitted - and we use that term loosely - the world in terms of delivering debt-based economic growth.

But for how much longer? Triffen identified the problem way back in the 1960s. Since then nothing has changed. The dilemma is now so big that it can't be undone or reversed. The dual role of the US dollar as national and international currency is no longer viable.

So what happens next? Well, we can guarantee that any change will not be smooth or voluntary. The maintenance of the 'system' has many powerful beneficiaries. Which is why they'll hold on until the death before change forces itself upon us.''

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''Have Rising Imports Cost 1.3 Million Jobs Since 2007?''

From Bloomberg

"If you go by the official data, U.S. workers have benefited from international trade in the past few years. The reported deficit in the trade of goods fell 25 percent from 2007 to 2011, adjusted for price changes. A shrinking trade gap is good for workers because it means more Americans are being kept busy producing things for domestic and foreign consumption.

But what if those trade numbers are wrong? After all, the U.S. lost 2 million manufacturing jobs from 2007 to 2011. A new research report from the Democratic-leaning Progressive Policy Institute says the trade deficit is worse than officially stated. It says the government is understating how much of what Americans consume is actually produced abroad, particularly in such low-cost nations as China."

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"Protectionism Makes Comeback As Recovery Stalls"

from atlantic sentinel....

"As a result, protectionism could gain weight in the upcoming months and while it may be vilified by conventional wisdom which rightfully points out the benefits of free trade, there is a “human face” which legitimizes it.

Supporters of protectionism tend to justify their demands through what they regard as the direct negative effects of trade with other countries. Some of these effects are caused by the “unfair” practices of governments as China’s. Others are due to the abundance of cheap labor in countries as Mexico."

Noam Chomsky on NAFTA 1993

from c-span

South Korea: "Lee offers to seek renegotiation on key clause after U.S. FTA takes effect"

from yonhap news....

"President Lee Myung-bak offered Tuesday to seek renegotiation with the United States on a contentious clause in their free trade agreement if the opposition party approves the deal first, a ruling party lawmaker said.

Lee made the offer at a meeting with leaders of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) after making a rare visit to the National Assembly to pitch the deal's ratification, said Rep. Hwang Woo-yea, the GNP's floor leader".....READ MORE

'Free trade’ imperialism'

from workers.org.....

"That the U.S. Senate took four years to endorse the “free trade” accords between U.S. imperialism and its vassals in Panama, Colombia and south Korea is no sign there was anything good about these agreements for working people in any of the countries.

A Free Trade Act sounds so harmless. It isn’t. It is not an agreement between peoples to work for their mutual benefit. It’s an agreement among the ruling classes in the countries signing the accord to better exploit the laboring masses, that is, the working class and the individual farmers. It enriches the 1 percent — or maybe the 1 percent of that richest 1 percent — who control areas of trade and finance at the expense of everyone else".........READ MORE

South Korea: "Prosecution vows stern actions against Free Trade Agreement protesters"

from yonhapnews.....

"Prosecutors said Monday they will resort to arrests and physical detention in dealing with protesters against the country's long-stalled free trade agreement (FTA) with the U.S.

Such pledges came as the country is facing rising public protests against the ruling Grand National Party's likely moves to railroad the FTA bill. Unfounded anti-FTA rumors on the Internet have also stirred public discontent against the free trade pact"........READ MORE

"South Korea police clash with Free Trade Agreement protesters"

from pressTv........

"More than 2,000 protesters took to the street in the capital Seoul on Thursday to express their resentment over the trade deal with Washington. Protesters tried to break into the National Assembly as lawmakers debated the pact, the Associated Press reported. 

The protesters said the free trade agreement would subdue South Korea's economy, and spoil their sources of revenue".........READ MORE 

South Korea: "Parties inch closer to physical brawl over Free Trade Agreement"

from koreajoongangdaily........

"The ruling and opposition parties inched closer to a physical showdown at the National Assembly yesterday over the still-pending U.S. free trade agreement with the Lee Myung-bak administration renewing pressure on the ruling Grand National Party to pass the pact and the opposition digging in its heels.

The Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee is scheduled to meet today in what could be the final vote before sending the agreement to the National Assembly floor, despite vows from opposition lawmakers to physically block any move to advance the bill".........READ MORE

'Walmart: The cheap, the imported and the truth'

everybody hates china.....and wal-mart........from south africa and mail and guardian.......

"Data from the South African Footwear and Leather Industries Association indicated that, in 1985, 78% of footwear sold in the local market was made in South Africa. By 2005 only 17% was made locally and 83% was imported"..........READ MORE 

'From Smoot-Hawley to the Yuan Controversy'

from national interest........

On May 5, 1930, President Herbert Hoover received a petition from 1,028 U.S. economists with a stark and urgent warning: Don’t sign the Smoot-Hawley tariff bill that was wending its way through Congress. “Countries cannot permanently buy from us unless they are permitted to sell to us,’’ the economists explained, “and the more we restrict the importation of goods from them by means of even higher tariffs, the more we reduce the possibility of our exporting to them.’’ Moreover, warned the economists, the tariff would slam the finances of Americans who had invested in foreign ventures—to the tune of an estimated $12.5 billion to $14.5 billion, as of January 1, 1929. Restrictive duties, said the economists, would thwart the foreign debtors’ ability to pay interest to American investors.


Hoover ignored the advice and signed the tariff bill on June 17, 1930. In doing so, he sealed the fate of the global economy—and his own political fate as well"............READ MORE

'Oligarchs win as congress offers up rare moment of Bi-Partisan support for trade agreements that only benefit the top 1% and screw the other 99%'

cue ross perot and the "giant sucking sound" quote..............from nytimes............

"The move offered a rare moment of bipartisan accord at a time when Republicans and Democrats are bitterly divided over the role that government ought to play in reviving the sputtering economy"..........READ MORE

''Congress prepares to sell out Americans yet again"

from ap..........

"Acting in rare harmony, Congress is preparing to approve three free trade agreements that advocates say will boost exports, give the economy a needed shot in the arm and help put Americans back to work.

The trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama are being trumpeted as economic victories by President Barack Obama and most congressional Republicans. Democrats, traditionally wary of free trade, are more ambivalent, but all three pacts are expected to pass easily when they come up in the House and Senate on Wednesday"..........READ MORE

'Trade War? We Already Had A Free Trade War And Communist China Won'

from oped news.....

"The free traders have devastated the first world economies and rewarded the greater slave and totalitarian capitalist powers over once more free, democratic, and independent nations.   So-called "free trade" has been a disaster for  human rights, democracy, the environment, domestic production and independence and national sovereignty. Its been a big win for global corporate fascism and the top one per cent, and that is why they want more of it"..........READ MORE

'According to the Economic Policy Institute, the NAFTA-style South Korea Free Trade deal could cost America roughly 159,000 jobs while Colombia would export another 54,000'

from firedoglake.........

"According to Matt McKinnon, the Legislative and Political Director for the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, members of Congress who vote in favor of the NAFTA-style “free” trade agreements this week could draw union-backed primary challenges in 2012.  We interviewed McKinnon earlier — starting about 9 minutes in — while covering the Occupy D.C. events.

While President Obama has spent weeks crisscrossing the country publicly promoting his American Jobs Act, ironically in Washington his administration has been focused on lobbying Congress to approve a package of job-killing free trade deals. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the NAFTA-style South Korea Free Trade deal could cost America roughly 159,000 jobs while Colombia would export another 54,000"............READ MORE

'Panama Free Trade Agreement Queuing Patiently for U.S. Signature - At What Cost?'

from diplomaticourier........

"In his 2010 State of the Union address, President Obama made a bold commitment of doubling U.S. exports by 2015. Flash forward 18 months, and politicians from both parties have failed in achieving a consensus towards ratifying the already negotiated Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with Colombia, South Korea and Panama, lessening the realization of President Obama’s’ pledge. Perhaps the problem is not in the details of the agreements, but failure of presentation, or if you may, selling the FTA’s better to Congress and the American public"...............READ MORE

'Obama Just Flip-Flopped Right off the Trade Cliff; Congress Must Slam on the Brakes'

banksters and tankers win again...............from citizen.org.........

"By asking Congress to approve three NAFTA-style trade deals signed by former President George Bush, President Barack Obama has completely flip-flopped on his campaign promises to fix America’s failed trade policy and has cast his lot against the majority of the American people who oppose more of these job-killing deals.

At a time of 9 percent unemployment and broad public opposition to more NAFTA-style trade agreements, it’s a fairly shocking shift away from the president’s job-creation message to suddenly call on Congress to pass three old Bush trade deals that the federal government’s own studies say will increase the U.S. trade deficit"..................READ MORE

'Tallying the Toll of U.S.-Communist China Trade'

from wsj..........

"For years, economists have told Americans worried that cheap Chinese imports will kill jobs that the benefits of trade with China far outweigh its costs.

New research suggests the damage to the U.S. has been deeper than these economists have supposed. The study, conducted by a team of three economists, doesn't challenge the traditional view that trade is ultimately good for the economy. Workers who lose jobs do eventually find new work or retire, while the benefits from trade, such as lower prices, remain. The problem is the speed at which China has surged as an exporter, overwhelming the normal process of adaptation"...............READ MORE

'Trade deficit with Communist China cost nearly 2.8 million U.S. jobs since 2001'

from the latimes......

"The growing trade deficit with China has eliminated or displaced nearly 2.8 million U.S. jobs since 2001 -– or about 2% of all domestic employment during that period, according to a briefing paper from the Economic Policy Institute.

California was the hardest hit, losing nearly 455,000 jobs from 2001 to 2010 due to trade with the Asian giant, according to Robert Scott, the institute’s director of trade and manufacturing policy research. Texas lost nearly 233,000 positions the same way.

The increase in imports from China is only part of the picture, according to Scott. Since the Chinese yuan is pegged to the U.S. dollar, the currency remained artificially low, making U.S.-made goods more expensive in China and pushing down exports"..........READ MORE