Tag Archives: Free Trade

News

Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper seeks increased trade with India

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Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper

 

Story here from CTV News.

Excerpt:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper spent his first day in India selling Canada as a desirable place to invest and highlighting the need for greater trade ties between the two countries.

Harper visited the cities of Mumbai and New Delhi on Monday, the first stops on a high-profile, three-day tour of the country that is home to 1.2 billion people. It is his first visit to India as prime minister.

[…]He spoke about the advantages of investing in Canada, and he recited the many ties that the two countries share — including pluralistic parliamentary democracy, federalism and more than 1 million Canadians who claim Indian heritage.

Canada, said Harper, has “one of the most welcoming environments for investment in the world and has the resources necessary to meet India’s growing energy and infrastructure needs.”

While Harper talked much about investment opportunities in Canada, he downplayed any suggestion that he would be signing two anticipated bilateral deals that have been expected for some time.

“On the subject of nuclear energy, it is my sincere hope that our two governments will complete our bilateral nuclear co-operation agreement soon,” said Harper, alluding to a pending deal that was first announced back in January.

Harper said Canada is also “keen” to complete a foreign investment protection deal, but that too remains under negotiation.

Stephen loves his country, he doesn’t apologize for Canada when he goes abroad. He wants to reach out to other countries by signing trade deals, so that Canadians will be able to pay the lowest prices for imported goods, and will be able to export Canadian products to more markets. Meanwhile, Obama screws American consumers by shunning free trade deals and raising tariffs against other countries.

Stephen Harper on stage again, in Mumbai

In other news, Blue Like You reports that Harper also took part in a dance on stage at a popular Indian reality TV show.

Now, if only Canada could get a cricket team to participate in all the tournaments, as well as a rugby team, and a soccer team.

Commentary

Michele Bachmann in defense of free trade agreements

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Representative Michele Bachmann
Representative Michele Bachmann

ECM sends word of a Michele Bachmann column posted at the Heritage Foundation!

Excerpt:

Each day in Minnesota and all across the nation, billions of dollars worth of products begin their journey to be sold overseas. American farmers, manufacturers, and businesses rely on exports to strengthen and grow both their bottom line, as well as our economy’s.

Free and fair trade agreements help spur economic growth; improve efficiency and innovation; create better, higher-paying jobs for hard-working Americans; and increase the availability of lower-priced products here in the United States.

Furthermore, the role of free trade as an expression of liberty and opportunity for all individuals signifies the very principles our country was founded upon.

Yet, the free trade agreements with Panama, South Korea and Colombia negotiated under the Bush Administration remain little more than words on paper. Despite having been carefully negotiated over a period of two and half years, these agreements have become bogged down by partisan divides. In the meantime, with an average tariff of 53% imposed on U.S. agricultural products by South Korea last year, for example, there is little wonder the United States International Trade Commission estimates U.S. sales of agricultural products could increase by as much as $3.8 billion once the U.S.–South Korea agreement is fully implemented.And while Congressional leaders seem content to leave these agreements on the back burner, America’s fragile industries are left hanging in the balance. The impact of depressed exports is fully evident to those who make their livelihood from them. In fact, Minnesota’s manufacturing exports experienced a 19% decline during the first quarter of 2009, mirroring a similar decrease nationwide. And our agricultural sector, especially our ailing pork and dairy producers, certainly needs no reminder of the importance of expanded export channels to the survival of their farms.

Click through and read the whole thing.

Reading this column filled me with joy and admiration, because Michele Bachmann shows  how good a Christian woman can be if she puts her mind to it. It’s so good that she has an informed view of economic policy and realizes how prosperity is important to Christians who are trying to marry and raise a family. Money is the fuel we use to run our life plans, so we all need to have jobs and to make sure that our dollar buys as many useful things as possible, by keeping prices low.

Here are my recent posts on Michele Bachmann:

You can click here for her video blog.

Please contribute to her 2010 campaign, if you can.

Here are all the posts tagged “Michele Bachmann”.

New Alfonzo Rachel video

By the way, for my female readers, the male equivalent of Michele Bachmann is Alfonzo Rachel. You can see his latest video which explains why Christianity is not compatible with socialism. He’s a devout Christian and he understands economics. He also is very entertaining in these videos he makes for PJTV.

News

Evaluating Sarah Palin’s speech in Hong Kong

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Sarah Palin giving a speech on economic policy
Sarah Palin giving a speech on economic policy

Story from the Wall Street Journal. (H/T Caffeinated Thoughts, Muddling Towards Maturity)

Let’s take a look at her speech.

Somebody has been reading Thomas Sowell’s book “A Conflict of Visions”, in which he talks about “the constrained vision” and “the unconstrained vision”.

We don’t believe that human nature is perfectible; we’re suspicious of government efforts to fix problems because often what it’s trying to fix is human nature, and that is impossible. It is what it is.

Here’s her defense of the free market.

Lack of government wasn’t the problem. Government policies were the problem. The marketplace didn’t fail. It became exactly as common sense would expect it to. The government ordered the loosening of lending standards. The Federal Reserve kept interest rates low. The government forced lending institutions to give loans to people who, as I say, couldn’t afford them. Speculators spotted new investment vehicles, jumped on board and rating agencies underestimated risks.

The speech also discusses cap-and-trade, free trade, and more.

Critical acclaim

Caffeinated Thoughts did a great job of linking some of the reactions from the left.

The New York Times:

A number of people who heard the speech in a packed hotel ballroom, which was closed to the media, said Mrs. Palin spoke from notes for 90 minutes and that she was articulate, well-prepared and even compelling.

“The speech was wide-ranging, very balanced, and she beat all expectations,” said Doug A. Coulter, head of private equity in the Asia-Pacific region for LGT Capital Partners…

[…]Mr. Goodé, a New Yorker who said he would never vote for Mrs. Palin, said she acquitted herself well.

“They really prepared her well,” he said. “She was articulate and she held her own. I give her credit. They’ve tried to categorize her as not being bright. She’s bright.”

My view? I say that Thomas Sowell prepared her. She probably ordered all his books from Amazon.com. Then she read them all at the kitchen table, with her glasses on and a laptop in front of her for her notes.

I am becoming more and more comfortable with her as a solid advocate for my point of view.

Check out her Facebook page where she’s been writing lately.

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