GHY Tradelines

(The Hill – Vicki Needham)

U.S. trade officials are expecting to cut a wide swath through a broad trade agenda this year, all probably before Congress leaves town in August.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk has three major issues on his agenda — implementing the three free-trade agreements passed last fall, opening up the Russian market to U.S. goods and services and wrapping up negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Russia’s ascension to the World Trade Organization (WTO) is topping the agenda for the Obama administration and business groups.  “It’s our top trade legislative priority for the year,” Chris Wenk, senior director for International Policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told The Hill on Friday.  The Coalition for U.S.-Russia Trade — a group of businesses pushing for the changes needed to move forward — is “starting an aggressive ramp up reaching out to the Hill,” he said. Read more here.
 

(Journal of Commerce Online – R.G.Edmonson)

Support hurt, however, by $6 million negative advertising campaign

Public support for a new bridge between Canada and the U.S. at Detroit is growing, but a $6 million negative advertising campaign against the New International Trade Crossing has taken its toll, according to published reports.

The poll, sponsored by the Detroit Free Press and a local television station, found that opponents had a 9 point advantage, but only a few months ago opponents outnumbered supporters 2-1. Support for the new bridge is strongest in the three counties that comprise the Detroit metropolitan area. Read more here.
 

(The Globe and Mail – Bertrand Marotte)

Despite significant challenges, Canadian manufacturers have managed to make some impressive gains over the past decade.

The soaring value of the Canadian dollar against its U.S. counterpart has significantly eroded the relative cost-competitiveness of the industry, and international competition is fiercer than ever, Adrienne Warren of Bank of Nova Scotia points out in a recent report.   “Yet against these formidable headwinds, a number of manufacturing industries have excelled, reporting strong gains in production, employment and exports,” she writes.

Two major factors underlie their success, she says: a single-minded focus on specialized, high-value-added products, and the targeting of high-growth markets both at home and abroad.  Anecdotal evidence indicates a growing cluster of successful “niche” manufacturers, even in hard-hit sectors like clothing, she says. Read more here.