The British Economy and the Brexit Vote Explained in Two Charts

In the course of doing my day job, which involves writing about the US economy and international trade, I came across two stunning charts on the British economy which I would like to share with my British readers and anyone else who is interested. These two charts put a sharp spotlight on the performance of the British economy in recent years and go a long way towards explaining the Brexit vote of 2016. 

US-Mexico-Canada Deal is a Conceptual Breakthrough But Details Will Be Critical

Key USMCA architects: US Trade Rep Bob Lighthizer (c),
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Mexican
Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo.

US-Mexico-Canada Deal is a Conceptual Breakthrough But Details Will Be Critical

The three magic numbers for understanding the new US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) negotiated by the Trump administration are 16, 16, and 6. Those numbers provide insight into a trade agreement that is conceptually revolutionary in the context of previous US trade agreements.  Donald Trump was elected president by voters who wanted him to shake up the bureaucratic world of trade and take unilateral US action where necessary for the betterment of US citizens, and he is doing just that.  He has corralled Canada and Mexico into accepting major modifications in concepts and goal that neither of those nations wanted. 

On Donald Trump, Elizabeth Warren, Corporate Short-Termism, and Populism

Here’s my favorite story about corporate short-termism: it’s the late 1990s, the Internet boom is in full swing and it’s the last day of the quarter. The CEO of one of the largest computer networking companies is standing on the company’s loading dock, supervising his men as they frantically load boxes of product onto trucks for delivery to customers. A friend of the CEO strolls past the loading dock and shouts over the noise to the CEO: “How is the quarter looking?” The CEO looks at his watch, which reads exactly noon. He shouts back to his colleague: 

Update: Tariff Job Gains Exceed Losses by 20:1

11,100 Job Gains vs. 514 Job Losses So Far 

We’ve had a very positive response to our CPA Tariff Job Creation Tracker, published earlier this week showing gains of 11,100 jobs in four major sectors affected by tariffs. Following requests by readers, we’ve now expanded it into the CPA Tariff Job Tracker (TJT) to track both job gains and job losses. 

The Untold Story: Tariffs Are Driving Job Creation

It’s just six months since the first of the Trump administration’s tariffs went into effect and the job gains are already visible.

Overexposed

Summary: This article looks at China’s heavy dependence on - or overexposure to - the US for their trade surplus and their exports. It examines different ways of counting the China trade surplus, finding that on one alternative measure it could be as much as twice as large as China’s own published reports. Finally, reasons for the disparities in different trade data reports are examined.

The struggle to reduce America’s trade deficit with China is still in its beginnings, but the early signs are that America may be winning the battle. 

The US Should Sign a UK Free Trade Agreement Now

The Trump administration should make it a top priority to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United Kingdom as soon as possible.  Although Donald Trump and many of his key advisors are rightfully highly skeptical of FTAs, the UK at this moment presents a different sort of opportunity. A US-UK FTA would be good for the US economy, good for the international economy, good for US foreign policy, potentially good for the UK economy, and ultimately (although they may not admit it) good for the European Union.