A couple of interesting tidbits on trade:

• Here’s a great video of our friend, Rep. Jeff Flake (R, AZ), speaking about the decades-long embargo on Cuba and restrictions on the freedom of Americans to travel there. Congressman Flake spoke at a Cato event (scroll to about half way down the page) on Capitol Hill last year along with Congressman Charlie Rangel (D, NY). Cato’s Center for Trade Policy Studies has long argued for an end to the failed embargo on Cuba.
• The U.S. Department of Commerce yesterday released the 2007 trade deficit figure: $738.6 billion or 5.3 percent of GDP. It will no doubt come as a relief to the current account deficit (CAD) hawks to know that the CAD is down 9 percent on 2006, primarily due to higher export earnings (thanks, cheaper dollar) and an economic slowdown. More on the link between economic growth and the deficit here.