Is it better to spend more money on helping the Olympic athletes or on their clothes?

Possibly with all of Obama's attacks on outsourcing this was inevitable. It surely fits in with the Obama campaign theme. ABC's "Made in America Team" has this investigation. This has to take the cake for being nutty:

“I think they should take all the uniforms, put them in a big pile and burn them and start all over again,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said when asked by ABC News today, “If they have to wear nothing but a singlet that says USA on it, painted by hand, that is what they should wear.” . . .

Did donors to the Olympics care more about winning medals or about who made the clothes? There are only so much funds to go around. There are real opportunity costs.

House passes new trade restriction bill

If some one wants to sell us products at less than cost (assuming the charges are correct) for years on end, what is the problem? The bill that passed didn't include the high tariffs that were written into the original bill. This bill is the only trade bill voted on by the House during Obama's first two years as president.

The House on Wednesday fired a warning shot at China by passing a bill with strong bipartisan support that would raise tariffs on Chinese imports if the Asian giant keeps an artificial lid on its currency.

Republicans from industrial states joined most Democrats in giving new powers to the Commerce Department to consider whether China's policy of tying the value of its currency to the dollar, rather than allowing it to rise in response to market forces, represents an unfair trade practice.

The vote was 348-79, with all but five Democrats and 74 Republicans voting in favor.

"Talk doesn't work," said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander M. Levin, rejecting protests from the Obama administration — like the Bush administration before it — that the best way to persuade China to abandon its practices is to use quiet diplomacy in international forums.

China promised to loosen its currency restrictions this past spring in response to international pressures, but the Chinese yuan or renminbi has risen by less than 2 percent since then. Economists estimate that it is undervalued by as much as 40 percent.

"A 25 percent to 40 percent tilt against us is unacceptable," said Mr. Levin, Michigan Democrat. "This bill says we cannot and will not look the other way. We are going to act." . . .

Obama was the same guy who imposed steep tariffs on tires:

A 35 percent duty will be set on the tires from China for a year, followed by a 30 percent tariff for a second year and a 25 percent tariff for a third year. The tariffs come in addition to a 4 percent tariff already applied.

The petition for the tariffs was brought by the United Steelworkers union, which argued that increased imports from China had led to the closure of U.S. plants and elimination of U.S. jobs. . . .

International trade still declining

This is a huge drop in international trade over the last year. Even if the IMF is right about next year, it would mean that trade was down 11 percent from what it was a year ago in August.

Global trade flows slipped in August after rising for the two previous months, an indication that the economic recovery is more fragile and anemic than previous data have hinted.

The Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis said trade volumes fell 2% from July, according to an algorithm based on customs data from 23 developed countries and 60 emerging markets, accounting for 95% of global trade.

The report is closely watched because it comes out before those compiled by the World Trade Organization and other institutions.

Global trade flows plummeted in the final months of last year as demand slowed and banks financed fewer cross-border transactions. Volumes were down 13% in August compared with the previous year.

The trade crisis has hit exporting powerhouses such as Japan and Germany particularly hard, sparked minor waves of protectionism almost everywhere, and inspired world leaders to make more funds available for trade finance.

The International Monetary Fund says world trade will fall 11.9% overall in 2009, the biggest drop since the Great Depression. The IMF sees a modest 2.5% increase in 2010. . . . .