Tag: reciprocity

New Interim Teacher Certification Program Aims to Provide More Teachers of Color in Schools

The Center Square
State Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) has approved the New Paradigm for Education program to promote alternative teacher certification in the state.

New Paradigm will offer a residency-based alternative route to teacher certification to recruit, train, and retain high-quality educators, particularly teachers of color and male teachers of color.

“We continue to work beyond conventional methods to help address the gaps in the teacher workforce,” State Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice said in a statement. “There is a substantial teacher shortage in Michigan, which is even more acute for teachers of color.”

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OFF THE RECORD: President Trump Singlehandedly Delivers the Most Eyebrow-Raising G7 Trade Summit Ever

Chris Alto
OFF THE RECORD

After years of mundanity surrounding the G7 world trade summit – the once-a-year snore-fest where the six, or seven, (or eight) leaders of the West come together as frenemies to see who can pick each others’ pockets most stealthily – we were treated to perhaps the most entertaining piece of political theater the world has ever seen. The excitement began when President Trump arrived. Last year, you’ll remember he made headlines over his ‘step aside‘ moment caught on camera. And you might also remember that – apart from the typical preening over ‘climate change’ initiatives like the Paris Accord (and the United States’ refusal to sign on) – the meeting came and went without much notice. Heck – even the protesters didn’t even bother to show up. The reason why is simple enough: this was President Trump’s first visit, and I suspect he wanted to do two things: (1) Observe; and (2) Give our trading partners a chance to do the right thing on their own. After all, that’s what friends do, right? Well, it’s a year later, and President Trump has been very vocal – some might even say notorious! – about his positions on trade. – America First –…

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US Slaps Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum from EU, Canada, Mexico

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Donald Trump

by Steve Herman   The United States is escalating trans-Atlantic and North American trade tensions, imposing a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports from the European Union, Canada and Mexico that will go into effect on Friday. The move is prompting immediate retaliatory tariffs from the Europeans – expected to target such iconic American products as Harley Davidson motorcycles and Levi’s jeans, as well as Kentucky bourbon and Tennessee whiskey. “We look forward to continued negotiations, both with Canada and Mexico on the one hand, and with the European Commission on the other hand, because there are other issues that we also need to get resolved,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told reporters in a telephone briefing on Thursday. “This is a bad day for world trade,” responded European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who announced there is “no choice” but to proceed with a World Trade Organization dispute settlement case and additional duties on numerous U.S. imports. “We will defend the EU’s interests, in full compliance with international trade law,” Juncker added. U.S. President Donald Trump has said the tariffs are needed for national security, claiming current trade deals harm U.S. companies and…

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Trump: Sometimes ‘Trade Wars Are Good’

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President Donald Trump responded Friday to strong criticisms that his pursuit of punitive trade measures will trigger a trade war with a tweet arguing that sometimes “trade wars are good.” Following recent decisions to place tariffs on imported washing machines, solar panels, and aluminum foil, the president announced Thursday that the U.S. will put tariffs of 25 percent on foreign-made steel and 10 percent on aluminum. This move was set in motion by a Department of Commerce report released last month that recommended restricting imports of foreign steel and aluminum to protect national security.

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S. Korea’s Moon Urges ‘Stern’ Response to New US Tariffs

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South Korean President Moon Jae-in called Monday for a “stern” response to new US tariffs on the South’s exports as concern grew over looming trade restrictions by Washington. US President Donald Trump last week threatened retaliatory action against China and South Korea and vowed to revise or scrap a 2012 free trade deal with the South which he described as a “disaster”.

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Commentary: Modernize NAFTA or End It

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By Robert Romano   More than any other issue, President Donald Trump’s vow to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or else leave it may have been the most important reason he won the Electoral College in 2016 against his opponent, Hillary Clinton. Trump won Ohio by about 450,000 votes. In Pennsylvania, Trump only won by 44,000 votes. In Florida, Trump won by only 113,000 votes. In Michigan, Trump only won by 11,000 votes. In North Carolina, Trump won by 173,000. In the rust belt they included states that traditionally voted Democrat. And they’re what put Trump over the top in 2016. These were some of the states hit the hardest by NAFTA. Ohio has lost 290,874 manufacturing jobs since the NAFTA and World Trade Organization (WTO) era began in 1994 and 1995 respectively, according to data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Public Citizen. Pennsylvania has lost 312,338 factory jobs since then. Florida has lost 82,006 jobs in manufacturing. Michigan lost 182,288. North Carolina lost 338,990. Fortunately, since taking office in 2017, President Trump has been working to keep his promise. On April 27, Trump took to Twitter to announce, “I received calls from the President of Mexico…

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