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Unable to justify Free Trade Agreements on economic grounds, the wacko free traders use foreign policy to justify them.
The Colombia FTA is supposed to be about foreign policy, says the Washington Post in an editorial with lots of claims, no proof, and no logic.
A vote for the Colombia deal would show Latin America that a
staunch U.S. ally will be rewarded for improving its human rights
record and resisting the anti-American populism of Venezuela's Hugo
Chavez.
Yup. Sign the silly FTA and George Bush's Chavez problem goes
away. Great logic. Multiple regression studies have shown
the cause and effect, and the world will be a better place.
Which specific provision in the Colombia FTA will help us isolate Chavez? Which one?
Never mind that these FTA's are outsourcing enabler.
Remember Peru's president Alan Garcia? What did he say a few days after the Peru FTA passed:
"Oil, mining, agriculture, fishing and manufacturing firms should
now flock to his nation of 29 million people, which has a per-capita
income of less than $3,000 a year, Garcia said. ``Come and open your
factories in my country so we can sell your own products back to the
U.S.,'' Garcia told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce".
Well. That was not about foreign policy. And we did not
solve Bush's problem with Chavez. I guess we had better do more
FTA's because the others obviously did not work.
Maybe the free traders are conceding the NAFTA-style agreements
don't help the economy. Have the overwhelming data on trade
deficits, outsourcing and job loss made that claim go away.
Is there any record of trade agreements
helping on foreign policy? No. I challenge the Washington
Post and the other free traders to show a consistent cause and effect
relationship.
Let's try using foreign policy to achieve
foreign policy ends. Not trade agreements We don't need to give away our economic
future to make nice with the president of a small-geopolitical
player. We are already trading with Colombia, and have low tariffs for their goods.
What, do you suppose, would our Founding Fathers
do? Build America or trade our kids' futures away for a nice,
friendly foreign alliance.
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