Smart Globalization Initiative

Green investment is a major pillar of the president's economic recovery plan.  Yet, America's dependence on foreign countries to produce green technologies may undermine this recovery strategy.  Using a list of green goods derived from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), we have determined that the United States ran an overall green trade deficit of -$8.9 billion in 2008, including a deficit of -$6.4 billion in the critical category of renewable energy, one of the main targets

Green investment is a major pillar of the president's economic recovery plan.  Yet, America's dependence on foreign countries to produce green technologies may undermine this recovery strategy.  Using a list of green goods derived from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), we have determined that the United States ran an overall green trade deficit of -$8.9 billion in 2008, including a deficit of -$6.4 billion in the critical category of renewable energy,… more

The United States now confronts its greatest economic challenges since the Great Depression. In addition to resolving crises in financial and housing markets, trade deficits with China and on oil must be addressed for the U.S. economy to achieve robust growth.

This past Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor reported an unemployment rate of 9.4% for May. But while this better-than-expected number raised the hopes slightly of some economists, a new paper from New America Foundation's Economic Growth Program suggests that unemployment is more severe than reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics-and that the economy is in the early stages of a "jobless recovery." 

This speech was delivered at The New School on May 19, 2009.

Views on the U.S. economy

The following speech was given by Douglas Rediker for the Truman National Security Project in Washington, DC on May 1, 2009. 

Green-shoots and optimism aside, let's agree that no one really knows how the economic crisis will play out or when it will end.  There are those who believe that we have reached the bottom and others who believe that we have only reached a "temporary bottom."

Please join Lori Wallach and Todd Tucker in a discussion of their book The Rise and Fall of Fast Track Trade Authority.

The digital version of the book is available at www.FastTrackHistory.org.

The 2008 presidential election was not about globalization or U.S. trade policy. However, the challenges facing the administration of President Barack Obama-the financial crisis, the lengthening and deepening recession-are inextricably bound up with America's trading relationships. A "business as usual" trade policy will not deliver the economic changes that President Obama has promised the public, nor restore Americans' faith in their country's engagement with the global economy.

For those of you who attended last Thursday's Bernard L. Schwartz Economic Symposium, thank you for helping to make it such a thoughtful, provocative discussion.

For those who weren't able to attend -- or who now simply want to revisit a particular panel or presentation -- video, transcripts and MP3 audio recordings of the entire event are available on NewAmerica.net.

Highlights from the symposium included: