Two days after Obama said we should not have import taxes in the climate/emissions bill because of protectionsim, the wacko free traders at the WTO say just the opposite.

Import taxes on goods coming from countries that fail to meet environmental standards might be among the measures exceptionally permitted under global free trade laws, WTO said.

The principle of establishing import taxes (also known as border adjustments) on cost differentials is an important one.  Whether or not the climate/emissions bill passes, the principle of dealing with regulatory and cost disparities through border adjustments is an important one to balance trade and re-establish credibility in the trade regime.

Trade can only be good if it is balanced.  If it is unbalanced, then the results are disruptive at best and catastrophic at worst.

China is now eyeing oil resources in Iraq.

Chinese oil companies are expected to bid for the rights to develop Iraq’s oil fields in auctions that are set to start Tuesday, although Sinopec, the China National Petroleum Corporation and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation all declined to comment Monday about their bidding strategies.

In another sign of China’s interest in Iraqi oil fields, Sinopec, China’s refining giant, offered $7.22 billion on Wednesday to buy Addax Petroleum, a Swiss-Canadian company with operations in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and in West Africa. If Addax’s shareholders and Canadian regulators approve the deal, which Addax’s board is recommending, it would be China’s largest overseas energy acquisition.

The Australian Rio Tinto deal was blocked by the Rio Tinto board, though the Australian government was for it.  It will be interesting to see what the Canadians do.

Support for currency reform legislation continues increasing in the U.S. House.  This link takes you to a very supportive letter from Congressman Brian Higgins of New York to Jack Davis, President of I Squared R Element Co., Inc. and CPA Board Director.

Duly noted:

Canada's minister of international trade reports there's little progress in discussions with the United States aimed at resolving Canada's concerns over Mandatory U.S. Country of Origin Labelling.

CPA will be submitting hundreds of comments from our members and friends to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative tomorrow, urging them to vigorously defend country of origin labeling for meat and produce. 

Foreign countries want to pass-off their product as U.S. made, which is what it looks like in the grocery store's meat case because the "USDA-inspected" sticker is applied to all meat, not just U.S. meat.  Multinational agribusinesses get really irritated when consumers want to know where the meat is from.