Obama Advisers Please the Right, But Not Much

NAFTA issues likely to loom large over visit

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama makes his first foreign trip as president today to Canada, and his talks there are likely to touch on some thorny trade issues, the New York Times reports. Obama spoke forcefully in favor of reopening NAFTA while a candidate, but intends to focus on strengthening the US-Canada trade relationship in his discussions with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, according to advisers. More»

'Inner circle' member will replace Christina Romer

(NEWSER) - Austan Goolsbee will succeed Christina Romer as the chair of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers. The president made the announcement today at the beginning of his press conference on the economy; administration sources leaked Goolsbee's name last night. Goolsbee, 41, is a University of Chicago economist and member of Obama's "inner circle," the Wall Street Journal reports. He's also the chief economist for the Presidential Economic Recovery Advisory Board. More»

Canada, Mexico both angry about Obama protectionism

(NEWSER) - President Obama is headed to Guadalajara today for his first "Three Amigos" summit with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, but the meeting may be less than completely friendly. Trade and drug trafficking will dominate the agenda, and the leaders have some grievances they plan to press, reports Reuters. Felipe Calderón wants Obama to resolve a simmering dispute involving Mexican trucks driving into the States, while Stephen Harper will voice Canadian anger over the stimulus package's "Buy American" rule. More»

November's G-20 agreement is abandoned as nations erect commerce barriers

(NEWSER) - The global recession has protectionism making a comeback, the New York Times reports, dimming hopes that leaders can create lasting solutions to the crisis at April’s Group of 20 economic summit in London. The last G-20 meeting, held in November, yielded an agreement to promote free trade that was quickly abandoned, with 17 members since adopting 47 measures restricting trade. More»

(AP) - Mexico said yesterday it will increase tariffs on about 90 US products in retaliation for last week's decision to end a pilot program that allowed some Mexican trucks to transport goods in the United States. The measure will affect about $2.4 billion in trade involving goods from 40 states. Mexico's economic secretary said the tariffs were specifically chosen to hurt a large number of states on significant trade goods. More»