March 7, 2005 Volume 5 Number 1
Empty Wallet Syndrome:
What You Should Know About Grocery Store Prices
Does your wallet feel a little lighter each time you leave the supermarket?
Are you aware that since 2003 the price of butter has increased by 28 percent?
Did you know that food inflation is expected to run 3 to 4 percent in 2005
across the board? Well, the price increases of the last few years aren't all
a result of pest infestations and bad weather. Tariffs, or border taxes, play
a role in those high prices. Read
how our government is working to lower your grocery bill in the face of increasing
demand for "protection" from our farmers and food producers.
Trade Agenda 2005:
What's in Store for Consumers?
With a newly elected Congress now in session, our representatives will have
to vote on a few trade issues. Click here
to see how each issue will affect you.
Trade Bills in the
Pipeline: From the Sublime to the Ridiculous
Since the 109th Congress convened in January, several trade bills have been
introduced in the House and Senate that will impact American consumers. In
CWT's opinion only one is worthy of Congressional consideration while the
others are flat out ridiculous. These bills are important to us consumers
because they will determine the weight of our wallets. Click here
to read more.
CWT in the News
- On Jan. 6th, CWT sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Evans urging him to stop the practice of "zeroing" in calculating anti-dumping duties. Read it.
- On Jan 18th, CWT sent a blast fax to Congress on food trade and the WTO. Click here to read it.
- On Jan. 25th, CWT sent a blast fax to Congress urging them to discourage the U.S. Dept of Commerce from using "zeroing" as a method of calculating anti-dumping duties. Read it.
- On Jan. 31st, CWT submitted comments to USTR regarding the WTO Doha Development Agenda (DDA) and the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) Negotiations. Read them.
- On Feb. 2nd, CWT hosted an event on the Canadian softwood lumber dispute and its impact on American consumers. Please visit www.acah.org to learn more about this trade case.
- On March 15th, CWT
will host a briefing on Capitol Hill (Room 2360 Rayburn House Office Building)
about the prospects for reforming the U.S. sugar program. Guest speakers
will include House Sugar Reform Caucus founders Rep. Mark Kirk and Rep.
Danny Davis. Congressman Clay Shaw has also been invited.