U.S. trade officials will announce a major trade enforcement action against China on Tuesday, according to a U.S. Trade Representative's office advisory obtained from a business group.
The advisory, which was distributed to media on a not-for-publication basis, said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk "will hold a press conference to announce a major trade enforcement action against China."
Between that, and a President who came out swinging today...
Faced with falling poll numbers for his leadership and an anxious party base, Mr. Obama did not just propose but insisted that any long-term debt-reduction plan must not shave future Medicare benefits without also raising taxes on the wealthiest taxpayers and corporations.
He uncharacteristically backed up that stand with a veto threat, setting up a politically charged choice for anti-tax Republicans — protect the most affluent or compromise to attack deficits. Confident in the answers most voters would make, Mr. Obama plans to hammer on that choice through 2012, reflecting the fact that the White House has all but given up hopes of a “grand bargain” with Republicans to restore fiscal balance for years to come.
“I will not support — I will not support — any plan that puts all the burden for closing our deficit on ordinary Americans. And I will veto any bill that changes benefits for those who rely on Medicare but does not raise serious revenues by asking the wealthiest Americans or biggest corporations to pay their fair share,” Mr. Obama said. “We are not going to have a one-sided deal that hurts the folks who are most vulnerable.”
...I'm starting to feel some glimmers of hope again.
I don't expect the move against China, whatever it is, will be all that earth-shattering. I also don't expect that the Republicans are suddenly going to find sanity and start to act in the best interests of this country.
But I sure am glad to see that we just might start to put up a fight here.
Keep it up.