Bloomberg is reporting today that Wal-Mart and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are among those opposing legislation that would allow the U.S. to cut off duty-free imports from factories in Pakistan and Afghanistan, if they fail to adhere to international labor standards on matters such as prohibiting forced labor and child labor. The bill, titled the Afghanistan-Pakistan Security and Prosperity Enhancement Act, is meant to help strengthen democracy in the two countries by creating “Reconstruction Opportunity Zones” and increasing their ability to export goods to the U.S. - and in return, it only requires that the countries make sure their factories are providing adequate working conditions.

Wal-Mart, however, is among those arguing that such labor restrictions would reduce any beneficial effect the legislation might otherwise have - and besides, if factories in Pakistan can’t export products to the U.S. because of labor and human rights abuses, Wal-Mart can’t then turn around and sell those products at their everyday low prices, right?

“Pakistan doesn’t have a good record in terms of child labor and the employment of women,” [Susan Aaronson, a professor at George Washington University in Washington who has written on trade and human rights] said. “This ensures the rule of law will be followed.”

The House bill states that each country “shall continue to receive duty-free treatment under this Act only if the President determines and certifies to Congress that Afghanistan or Pakistan, as the case may be has implemented the requirements set forth” - said requirements including insuring the following:

(A) compliance with core labor standards; and
(B) compliance with the labor laws of Afghanistan or Pakistan, as the case may be, that relate directly to core labor standards and to ensuring acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational health and safety.

We’ve already documented Wal-Mart’s sourcing issues in other international locales, so it shouldn’t be all that surprising that they would oppose such regulations here. Links to summaries of both the House version of the bill (with labor requirements) and the Senate version can be found after the jump.

Obama’s Bid to Boost Exports From Pakistan Hits Snag Over Labor [Bloomberg]

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The U.S. International Trade Commission has made an announcement, and that announcement is one we shouldn’t be surprised by at this point. The ITC has ruled that U.S. tire companies are being harmed by cheap products from China, and as a result President Obama will have to decide whether to impose tariffs or quotas on the country that, thanks to Wal-Mart, is now America’s largest source of imports.

Of course, Wal-Mart’s tire business isn’t the only factor behind the ruling, but it certainly is one of the biggest. China sent 21 million tires to the U.S. in 2005, and that more than doubled to 46 million by last year. For its part, Modern Tire Dealer reports that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has close to 3,200 outlets selling tires, although most of those sales are concentrated in its approximately 2,435-store Tire & Lube Service Centers nationwide.

The (United Steelworkers) union said China has more than tripled its tire exports to the U.S. between 2004 and 2008, ending jobs for 5,100 American workers. The union said another 3,000 workers would lose their jobs by the end of the year.

The next move for the ITC will be to come up with come up with recommendations on what the President should do to help U.S. companies, including a couple familiar names based in Ohio - Akron-based Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and Findlay-based Cooper Tire.

The case is the first test for Obama on trade with China, after he vowed during his presidential campaign last year to help unions or domestic industries seeking relief from foreign competition. Since the election, he also has pledged to avoid protectionism so as not to exacerbate the global recession.

U.S. agency rules for tire producers in China case [Bloomberg News]

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The way they fight them tooth and nail, you’d think Wal-Mart believes its eventual downfall could come at the hands of unions. But could there be another force at work, something evil that lives deep within the bowels of our planet, a nightmare that keeps Wal-Mart up at night clutching its pillows and sweating in its cheap Sam’s Club bed?

Expensive oil?

Admit it...you thought I was going the science fiction route. A vicious Balrog from Lord of the Rings that lives beneath the Earth’s crust and breathes fire. I guess you could make the leap to oil - it too has a black heart and is flammable, after all. And in his new book $20 Per Gallon, Christopher Steiner imagines an everyday world in which the price of gasoline (and oil) continues to rise (and rise...and rise some more), and the immediate impact that would have on our lives. The Oregonian has a sample:

$6/gallon: We will finally kill the SUV, allowing Los Angeles to emerge from smog and saving 15,600 lives a year from deadly auto crashes, since people will be driving far less. At the same time, revenues from gas taxes will plunge, causing roads and bridges to crumble, leading to higher tolls.
$14: “Wal-Mart killed by high cost of global transport. Mom-and-pop retailers return to Main Street. U.S. Factories revive.” The bad? “With driving cut in half and asphalt costs soaring, even toll roads shut down.”
$20: Mass biking and transit, including the nationwide high-speed rail network that will supposedly happen at $18 a gallon. Plus, 90 percent of Americans will live in cities. “The bad,” according to Steiner’s prediction is nuclear power will power everything, including cargo ships and polyester will be “too expensive for clothes.”

Steiner notes that as oil and gas prices rise, business models like Wal-Mart’s (heavy on cheap overseas imports, reliant on a driving/mobile consumer) will become progressively more unsustainable. Could we see companies like Wal-Mart lobbying against raising the Federal gas tax or a tax on miles driven? Could future rises in costs be behind Wal-Mart’s attempts to move into more urban areas? Check out an interview with Steiner on Michigan NPR after the jump, and then share your thoughts.

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