http://www.inthesetimes.com/archives/tags/trade/ In These Times features award-winning investigative reporting about corporate malfeasance and government wrongdoing, insightful analysis of national and international affairs, and sharp cultural criticism about events and ideas that matter. en-us Expression Engine jessica@inthesetimes.com seamus@inthesetimes.com Wed, 07 Jun 2006 06:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2664/delphi_dodges_union_contracts/ The Delphi Corporation auto parts plant where Brian Stover works bears little resemblance to the industry's iconic assembly lines. One of the largest integrated circuit plants in the country, the quiet, microscopically clean complex of high-tech fabrication machines in Kokomo, Indiana produces critical components for today's electronically sophisticated vehicles. That gives Stover, a skilled maintenance worker, a rare measure of job security in a rapidly changing industry. But Delphi is also at the cutting edge of menacing change for auto workers. Last October, the company--the parts division of General Motors until it was spun off in 1999--declared bankruptcy and proposed cutting workers' jobs and wages by roughly two-thirds. Despite efforts to draw GM into deals that would at least cushion… labor economy trade David Sirota Wed, 23 Aug 2006 06:00:01 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2792/the_death_of_doha/ Elite editorialists and free-trade devotees gnashed their teeth in distress when the latest round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations collapsed in late July. But amidst the hand-wringing, many advocates for the world's poor cheered. Walden Bello, executive director of Focus on the Global South, said flatly, "The collapse of the Doha Round is good for the poor." How could that be? Frustrated with what they saw as original WTO rules skewed to benefit the rich, the world's poor countries wanted to win a trade deal that would help them this time around. The rich countries had promised to make it easier for them to export their agricultural goods. But in reality, the failed talks were never about helping the… Trade politics David Sirota Wed, 13 Sep 2006 06:00:01 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2789/the_prairie_populist_byron_dorgan/ North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan is a popular Democrat from a very "red" rural state. He's remained a voter favorite not because he's tried to split the difference with Republicans or suck up to the Washington power structure, but because of the populist stands embodied in his new book Take This Job and Ship It: How Corporate Greed and Brain-Dead Politics Are Selling Out America. In the book, Dorgan takes on Washington's bipartisan consensus on trade issues, detailing how politicians of both parties are betraying ordinary Americans by pushing "free" trade pacts written by corporate lobbyists. These pacts, which polls show the public opposes, are filled with protectionist provisions for the corporations who write them and are "free" only in… politics books economy trade David Sirota Wed, 07 Feb 2007 06:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3021/solidarity_without_borders/ With John Lennon's "Imagine" playing in the background, more than 1,000 leaders of service and technology unions from around the world gathered in Chicago in the fall of 2005. As delegates at the Union Network International (UNI) convention, they represented about 15 million workers in 140 countries. The challenge they faced was laid out in bold by the banner before them: "Global companies require global organizing, global unions." It's an idea that's as old as it is new. Back in 1848, Marx and Engels exhorted the workers of the world to unite, and in the late 19th century, during an earlier wave of globalization, confederations of unions in similar industries--like metalworking--began to form across borders. But in the United States… economy labor trade David Sirota Mon, 07 May 2007 06:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3131/making_trade_work_for_everyone/ The majority of Americans want their elected leaders to know that globalization isn't working for them. Democratic politicians have heard the message and are now taking a few first steps to better regulate America's integration into the global economy. The November elections--when 37 House and Senate seats changed from "free trade" to "fair trade"--created a Democratic majority that needed to stake out a new position on trade. Globalization and offshoring of jobs ranked among the electorate's top issues, according to polls by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Agenda. Results in key races indicate that Democrats could have picked up even more seats with a stronger message on global economic issues, according to an analysis by Chris Slevin and Todd… labor trade David Sirota Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3801/let_them_eat_free_markets/ In April, crowds of angry Haitians -- reduced to eating mud cakes to staunch hunger -- erupted in deadly protests against high food prices, forcing the prime minister to resign. The price of rice, a staple of the Haitian diet, had risen 16 percent on the world market last year, then shot up 141 percent from January to April. Around the world, similar riots -- or fears of them -- have pushed governments to restrict exports, reduce tariffs, attack hoarding and take other desperate measures as prices of virtually all major food commodities have spiked -- and often fluctuated wildly. But in the months since Haitians hit the streets, leaders of the major international financial organizations -- the World Bank,… trade NAFTA international food David Sirota