Senate Currency Letter Signatures Show Strong Finance, Banking Support

A Senate letter demanding that the Obama administration include disciplines on currency manipulation in trade agreements, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership, has attracted 60 signatories, with more than half of them from the Banking, Finance and Foreign Relations committees.

Stabenow and colleague urge caution on trade deal

A group of 60 senators, led in part by U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., have sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and the U.S. trade representative asking that concerns about foreign currency manipulation be addressed in talks related to a Pacific Rim trade agreement.

Auto industry gets tough on Japan in trade agreement talks

The American Automotive Policy Council, a trade group representing the Big Three automakers, is pushing back hard against Japan's new place at the negotiating table for one of the most comprehensive free-trade deals in years.

Initially conceived as an 11-country bloc when it was announced in Nov. 2011, the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement aims to create a free-trade group with countries such as Vietnam, New Zealand and Malaysia. In July, during the 18th round of negotiations, Japan joined the talks, and the countries involved ambitiously hope to wrap up the discussions in October.

Auto industry gets tough on Japan in trade agreement talks

The American Automotive Policy Council, a trade group representing the Big Three automakers, is pushing back hard against Japan’s new place at the negotiating table for one of the most comprehensive free-trade deals in years.

Initially conceived as an 11-country bloc when it was announced in Nov. 2011, the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement aims to create a free-trade group with countries such as Vietnam, New Zealand and Malaysia. In July, during the 18th round of negotiations, Japan joined the talks, and the countries involved ambitiously hope to wrap up the discussions in October.

Trade Treaty Concerns Surface

A proposed international trade treaty involving Pacific nations including Japan could threaten the domestic auto recovery here and in other industrial Midwestern states if it isn't smartly negotiated, the Big Three U.S. auto companies and Ohio senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown said.

Jobs in Michigan require a level playing field for trade

The city of Detroit has temporarily tapped out. In this case, municipal bankruptcy is more than just relief from debt obligations; it represents a huge psychic wound for the heart of American industry. Michigan makes things. So how could it have gotten this rough?

It’s bad, but there is hope. The Big Three, only a few years out of their deathbeds, are back in the black. GM, Ford, and Chrysler have produced profits that measure in the billions, despite the prewritten obituaries that appeared in 2009.

Despite their turnaround, the Big Three still face significant hurdles in getting their goods into Japan, and face import competition subsidized by currency manipulation. In fact, imports from all countries, including the U.S., account for only 6 percent of Japan’s auto market. Meanwhile, America has one of the most open auto markets in the world.