As we sat around a table, the psychologist asked us a bunch of questions about our structure and organizational processes. We had no idea what he was talking about: we had not had the time to develop such constructs, as we were too busy trying to bring in revenue. At the end of the first session, the guy basically predicted that we wouldn’t last more than one or two more years. We never scheduled the second session.

A recurring theme in the CapTrade origins story is that luck is an important element that distinguishes successful from failed start-ups.  Luckily for us, luck was on our side. 

One of the biggest challenges in setting up a new firm was coming up with a name.  Economic consulting firms like to names themselves after rivers (e.g., Charles River), but Potomac Economics was already taken. We settled on Capital Trade Incorporated mainly because it was the least common denominator – the only name we could agree on.

Could we “reverse engineer” the Commerce antidumping program, so that a client would have a way of estimating the potential duties, and playing “what if” games, before submitting its responses? Not really knowing what we were getting into, we accepted the challenge.

In her first interview since taking office, given on March 28th, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai affirmed that the previous administration’s tariffs on goods from China would not be removed any time soon. But how much does the decision represent a fundamental shift from neoliberal consensus, for lack of a better term, in the approach to U.S. trade policy?

According to the advance GDP release (4/29/20), the U.S. economy contracted by 4.8 percent during the first quarter of 2020. Though not as bad as the 8.4 percent quarterly decline that occurred during the Great Recession, performance in the second quarter could be even worse.

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is generally viewed as a modernizing update to NAFTA with only moderate changes for most industries, but with potentially significant impacts on a select few.

As promised, this past Sunday Sept 1st the U.S. began implementing 15 percent tariffs on a variety of goods. On Monday, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced that China filed a complaint against the US under the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement system

I have just welcomed my third child into the world. Her small presence has brought many large changes to our routines, including, for the first time, the use of cloth rather than disposable diapers. This change to cloth started me thinking: Was there a way to quantify which is better, cloth or disposable diapers?

Charles (Chuck) Anderson and Daniel Klett were named the number 1 and number 2 “Global Elite Thought Leaders,” respectively, in a recent ranking published by Who’s Who Legal (“WWL”), Trade and Customs, Economists and Antidumping Consultants. 

The Department of Commerce has issued guidance on deadlines impacted by the government shutdown. The DOC has decided to toll all deadlines for 40 days, except for requests for administrative reviews of suspension agreements and requests for AD and CVD administrative reviews

As 2018 came to a close, there were numerous new filings at the U.S. International Trade Commission. Since our last article, these filings include 337 Complaints, 701 (countervailing duty) & 731 (antidumping duty) Petitions, 131 Requests, and one request for investigation under sections 201-202 of the Trade Act of 1974.

Recent filings include 337 Complaints, 701 (countervailing duty) & 731 (antidumping duty) Petitions, 332 Requests, and one request from the U.S. Trade Representative

Escalating trade tensions between the United States and China have resulted in multiple actions that threaten to significantly alter trade flows between the world’s two largest national economies

Since CapTrade’s last article on recent 701 (countervailing duty) & 731 (antidumping duty) Petitions and 337 Complaints, there have been several new filings in the past few weeks. Most notably, the United States Trade Representative requested the USITC conduct an investigation to assess the “probable economic effect” of modifications to the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA).

Although it is only March, there have been numerous petitions and complaints filed at the USITC this year.

Within these allegations, Canada claims that the U.S. procedures broke the WTO’s Anti-Dumping Agreement, the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, as well as the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes.