If international trade policy is your thing, we’ve got the data center for you

Are you a reporter writing about a local factory closing? Are you writing about trade as an election issue, jobs, the economy or the trade deficit but don’t know where to get good information or how to localize it? Look no further.

Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch today launched its Trade Data Center, a new and exciting tool for researching and illustrating the impacts of trade policy on local communities. It’s free and contains previously unavailable information packaged in an easy-to-understand, customizable and user-friendly format.

“Whether you are a seasoned trade hand or just beginning to look into globalization, or whether you are for or against fair trade, the Trade Data Center will have something for you,” said Travis McArthur, trade and finance researcher for Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch and lead Trade Data Center creator. “We hope that this will serve as a resource for journalists, policymakers, researchers, students – anyone with an interest in the impact of trade policy. It really is your one-stop-shop, and we’ll be updating it frequently with new features.”

The Trade Data Center is available at http://www.citizen.org/TradeDataCenter.

Cross-posted at Eyes on Trade.

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Lori Wallach discusses Obama’s National Export Initiative on PBS

From Eyes on Trade: Click here to watch Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, on the PBS show Ideas in Action. She discusses President Obama’s National Export Initiative.

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Pressure on Obama to deliver campaign promises for new trade model

Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch division, talks about the trade talks that are beginning today in Australia. For a detailed look at what is at stake, visit www.EyesOnTrade.org, Public Citizen’s globalization blog.

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A decade after Seattle protests, will Obama do the right thing?

Ten years after protesters shut down the WTO ministerial in Seattle and halted WTO expansion, Obama faces a choice. Will he help modernize the global economy? Or will he continue the agenda of the past, which has fostered devastating economic, food and climate crises? Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch division, explores the issue in a recent piece in the Nation magazine.

She also paired up with an unlikely ally – a longtime promoter of trade agreements – to pen a Washington Post op-ed explaining how a treaty on global warming could require new trade rules and that allowing the WTO to handle trade disputes over climate matters is a recipe for discord.

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It’s so easy to set up a tax haven in Panama, even an intern could do it

This is Jessica, an intern in Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch division. She and the crew over there did this video to show how easy it is to set up an offshore tax shelter. The answer to that questions after a couple calls to attorneys in Panama? Easy. Very easy. Yes, the conversation in the video is real. No, she didn’t actually set the corporation up. But she could have and that’s one of the arguments against a NAFTA-type expansion to Panama. Read more about the issues at our sister blog, Eyes on Trade.

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It’s time to put government back on the side of the people

The election is over, but our work has just begun.

We must roll up our sleeves to reverse some of the damaging policies enacted over the past eight years. We have a chance to make real change happen. But we need your help.

We’ve have waited so long for an administration that is willing to promote an agenda for people – not corporations. Now, we have the best opportunity in a decade to put government back on the side of the people. Join us in making our “Citizens’ Agenda” a priority in 2009 and beyond so we can:

• Put homeowners ahead of CEOs in the massive Wall Street/auto industry bailout
• Clean up government by breaking ties between lawmakers and big corporate dollars and lobbyists
• Boost wages, ensure import safety and protect the environment by replacing the failed NAFTA/WTO trade model
• Create green jobs and stabilize the economy with clean, sustainable and renewable energy
• Ensure safety of toys, pharmaceuticals and other products
• And more

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Maine rocks fair trade

From Todd Tucker @ Eyes on Trade: This is some great footage from the Maine Fair Trade Campaign’s recent convention, with none other than our own Lori Wallach [director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch division], making the case for a different trade model. Fair trade champion Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine) also riles up the crowd about 6 minutes in.

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