Even the most ardent Obama supporter should be embarrassed by the collapse of bilateral trade talks with South Korea. President Obama had correctly hailed the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) as critically important for the United States. The U.S. International Trade Commission estimated the agreement would increase U.S. exports by $10 billion—a jobs stimulus package that wouldn’t cost the federal government a dime. But once again the trade accord was held hostage to narrow-minded demands by Congressmen and lobbying groups. Clearly, for the Obama White House, special interests …
Take good care of your current car. Given what the proposed Environmental Protection Agency/Department of Transportation regulations are going to do to new vehicles, you may want to hang on to it for as long as possible. Pursuant to federal law as well as a 2007 Supreme Court case, these two agencies have proposed a sharp increase in vehicle fuel economy. The proposal requires a 5 percent annual increase in fuel economy starting with the 2012 model year, reaching 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. Note that this would be …
If you like what’s happened to the auto industry, you’ll love this. Bloomberg is reporting today that Ron Bloom — the head of the Obama Administration’s automobile task force — will soon get an expanded portfolio, with responsiblity for crafting Administration policies for all manufacturing industries. Yet another Obama Administration czar? Don’t expect the White House to use the dreaded “C” word, but that seems to be the plan. By itself, of course, that’s no bad thing — after all even George Bush had a “manufacturing czar” within his Commerce …
