Trade

Letter urges Secretary of State Clinton to be a proponent of treaty to regulate interstate transfer of weapons

June 17, 2009 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and seven of her Senate colleagues are urging Secretary of State Clinton to be a strong proponent of an international Arms Trade Treaty to regulate the interstate transfer of conventional weapons.

The second session of the UN Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) on the Arms Trade Treaty is scheduled to convene at the United Nations next month. The Working Group is tasked with creating international regulations on the export, import and international transfer of arms to help prevents the flow of weapons to world conflict zones.    » read more »

06/17/2009 -- BIRR, Switzerland - Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen toured Alstom’s Turbine and Generator rotor manufacturing operation Tuesday in Birr, Switzerland. The tour of the Swiss power company is one of Bredesen’s recruiting efforts to expand European investment in Tennessee’s clean energy sector. The Alstom manufacturing operation is known worldwide for producing equipment used in coal, gas and nuclear plants.

“I’ve long said that it makes sense for Tennessee to redouble its effort to recruit new business, even though the global economy is in recession,” Bredesen said. “The people of Tennessee need higher skilled, good paying jobs, and now is not the time to pull back or retrench.”    » read more »

June 16, 2009 -- (Pittsburgh) – This week’s U.S. Commerce Department’s report of the $29 (B) billion April trade deficit highlights the continued threat China poses to a possible economic recovery fueled by a resurgence in industrial manufacturing.

While the 2009 imbalance to date remains below last year’s record pace, China is still responsible for more than half (57%) of the overall U.S. trade deficit in April, the most recent month for which data is available.    » read more »

Washington, DC -- June 9, 2009 -- A three-member NAFTA arbitration tribunal rejected a $50 million claim filed by the Canadian mining company, Glamis Gold Ltd., challenging certain actions taken by the Department of the Interior (DOI) and certain measures adopted by the State of California relating to land reclamation in connection with proposed open-pit mining operations. The Office of the Legal Adviser of the Department of State represented the United States in the case.    » read more »

Snowe Introduces Critical Legislation To Increase Small Business Exporting

June 9, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), Ranking Member of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, introduced legislation this week to help small businesses expand into foreign markets. The Small Business Export Opportunity Act of 2009 (S. 1208) would strengthen and improve export financing programs within the Small Business Administration (SBA) to better assist American entrepreneurs expand their businesses overseas, compete in international markets and create new, good-paying jobs.    » read more »

June 3, 2009 -- Washington – In testimony before the International Trade Commission Tuesday, U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) said Arkansas’s workers are entitled to compete on a fair playing field in our global marketplace.

Lincoln, testifying on behalf of Cooper Tire & Rubber Company employees in Texarkana, expressed support for a United Steelworkers (USW) petition filed earlier this year seeking relief from surging imports of consumer tires from China.    » read more »

June 2, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard today asked the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to give the U.S. tire industry a “fighting chance” to survive the waves of low-priced and unfairly traded imports of consumer tires flooding the domestic market from China.

Gerard and other USW officers on the trade petition that seeks to stem those imports and rebuild the domestic industry. Members of Congress also testified and dozens of tire workers from affected plants sat in the hearing room.

Senators Robert Casey and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and other Democratic lawmakers argued before the commission that the case is a chance for President Barack Obama to chart a new course for U.S. trade policy.    » read more »

Senator Seeks Relief for Companies Affected by Chinese Tire Imports

June 2, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today testified before the International Trade Commission (ITC) on behalf of workers at Denman Tire Company in Leavittsburg and Cooper Tire in Findlay. Brown petitioned the ITC for relief from excessive imports of passenger car and light truck tires from China that have had an adverse impact on Ohio companies and workers. A copy of Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, can be found below.

I appear before you today in support of the workers in my state and around the country whose jobs have been lost or are on the line due to a surge in imports of passenger and light truck tires made in China.    » read more »

Surge in Chinese tire imports threatening crucial domestic industry and manufacturing jobs in Fort Wayne area

June 2, 2009 -- Washington – Senator Evan Bayh testified in a major international trade case today, urging the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to help protect Fort Wayne-area workers whose jobs are threatened by a surge in Chinese tire imports.

At issue is whether the rise in Chinese tire imports constitutes unfair trade prohibited under Section 421 of U.S. international trade law and threatens to cause a market disruption for domestic tire producers. The ITC is considering a petition initiated by the United Steel Workers alleging that an increase in imported Chinese tires has caused a steep decline in U.S. production, sales, profitability and employment.    » read more »

Industrial Machinery Company To Invest in Growth and Global Expansion of Premium Off-Road Vehicle Brand; Deal is Expected to Secure Over 3,000 US Jobs

DETROIT and SICHUAN, June 2, 2009 - Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co., Ltd (Tengzhong) and General Motors Corp. today confirmed details of their proposed transaction, pursuant to which, Tengzhong, a major industrial machinery group, will acquire the rights to the premium off-road HUMMER brand, along with a senior management and operational team.    » read more »

June 2, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – Leo W. Gerard, International President of the United Steelworkers (USW) will present testimony before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Tuesday, Jun. 2, along with other USW officers involved with the domestic tire industry in a major trade case that seeks to stem the flood of imported consumer tires from China. Ten Members of Congress will also testify.    » read more »

New GM Expected to Launch in 60-90 Days Under New Ownership

DETROIT, June 1, 2009 - General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) today announced that it has reached agreements with the U.S. Treasury and the governments of Canada and Ontario to accelerate its reinvention and create a leaner, stronger "New GM" positioned for a profitable, self-sustaining and competitive future.    » read more »

BURLINGTON, Vt., May 29 – As crude oil prices jumped to the highest level in six months, Senator Bernie Sanders urged federal regulators yesterday to stop speculators from artificially driving up prices.

Sanders said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission should use its emergency powers – which include the authority to impose speculation limits, increase margin requirements, and suspend trading – in order to ensure that oil prices accurately reflect supply and demand.

“I hope you will seize this opportunity to redefine the CFTC as a strong regulator that will do everything within its power to benefit consumers,” Sanders said in a letter to Gary Gensler, the commission’s new chairman.    » read more »

May 28, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- The United States has filed a civil complaint against PowerTrain Inc., Wood Sales Co. Inc., and Tool Mart Inc., all based in Golden, Miss., alleging that they imported and sold more than 78,000 Chinese-made engines that do not meet federal air pollution standards, the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., is part of an ongoing effort to ensure that imported non-road engines and equipment comply with the Clean Air Act’s emissions standards. The filing marks the first federal court action enforcing the Clean Air Act’s emissions standards for portable generators, water pumps and other "non-handheld equipment."    » read more »

FOSTER CITY, Calif. -- May. 28, 2009 -- Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) today announced that the company’s Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) for regadenoson, an investigational pharmacologic stress agent for radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), was validated by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).

Following validation of the MAA, the dossier is distributed to members of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for formal review to determine whether regadenoson is a safe and efficacious pharmacologic stress agent in humans.    » read more »