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Spread this message with Digg, Del.icio.us, Reddit, or Stumbleupon, and subscribe to the RSS Feed to track articles WTO Talks to be RevisitedE-mail - editor@economyincisis.org |
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The Doha Development Round, which began in November 2001, was thought to have stalled in Geneva, Switzerland last month, but senior conference officials are set to meet again next week, according to Reuters. Revisiting the Doha Agenda is being encouraged by trade-minded officials in India, China, Brazil and unfortunately the United States. This particular WTO ministerial was built primarily on the basis of lowering trade barriers to agricultural products. India initially disagreed with the WTO’s terms in hopes of protecting its nearly 200 million farmers. The U.S. also chose to walk out on the talks in order to protect its farming industry, but now both nations are seeking a renewal. If an agreement had been made to lower protective agricultural tariffs, the farming industries of both nations could be priced out by even lower cost alternatives elsewhere. The conference stalled when nations, including India and the United States, ruled against allowing their industries to be undermined by foreign competition without the benefits of tariff protection. Now however, “free-trade” obsessed representatives are reversing their stances and heading back to the discussion they rightly walked away from. U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab is at the forefront of reinvigorating the summit in Geneva next week. Schwab believes that reaching an agreement on trade liberalization, and achieving “freer-trade” would be a great benefit to the United States and to the developing world. The naivety of senior U.S. policy-makers should be seen as both alarming and disconcerting. The U.S. needs to act to protect what little industry it has left, and regain those which it has lost to “free-trade”, globalization and trade liberalization. None of these goals can be achieved if its efforts are counterproductive. The prospect of further embedding ourselves in WTO trade pacts undermines our nation’s ability to build revenue and promote domestic industry. Source Reuters:
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Article Comments From Readers
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guest says "To the guest above" on 09/06/08
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Who is your group? What is the IWW?
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guest says "Reinvorating the WTO Vampire" on 09/05/08
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My group will fight the WTO vampire, as I have fought it since the 70s. I had Fred Thompson's Senate Committee convinced that
China was as threat in 1999 but the U.S Chamber of Commerce prevailed. Now WTO is much more dangerous due to it's propensity to Labor Arbitrage. Jobs are traded in WTO negotiations in real time. We need to convince WTO representatives and our Congress how much they have to lose in the next election. Drive a stake in the heart of the Corporate WTO Vampire. Workers must gather together in the US, Europe and Asia to defeat the harm of corporate America. Soon we create a worldwide framework. Long live the IWW!! |
