Monday, January 31, 2005
Giving with one hand, and taking with the other
Americans have been generous in their response to the Tsunami in Asia, giving hundreds of billions to assist people affected by the disaster. How odd, therefore, to turn around and slap tarrifs on millions of dollars worth of seafood imports from Thailand and India.
As the article from Reason magazine notes, these tariffs weren't big news in the United States because shrimp producing isn't a big business there (relative to GDP, that is). It WAS big news in Thai and Indian papers, however, reflecting the disproportionate affect these tariffs will have on them.
Bush claimed that he wants to spread freedom around the world. Freedom does best among people with the resources (and time) to care what their governments are doing. In other words, democracies work best in nations that are relatively affluent.
America's anti-dumping laws are just a fancy redesign of old-fashioned protections so as to get around WTO rules. They undermine America's image around the world, and make the president's desire to spread freedom a lot more difficult.
Bush needs to learn that you aren't going to find a receptive audience when you've done the equivalent of slapping them in the hotel bar a few hours before. Protecting America's food producing industry HURTS the third world. They will respond accordingly, in ways not conducive to American interests.
Americans have been generous in their response to the Tsunami in Asia, giving hundreds of billions to assist people affected by the disaster. How odd, therefore, to turn around and slap tarrifs on millions of dollars worth of seafood imports from Thailand and India.
As the article from Reason magazine notes, these tariffs weren't big news in the United States because shrimp producing isn't a big business there (relative to GDP, that is). It WAS big news in Thai and Indian papers, however, reflecting the disproportionate affect these tariffs will have on them.
Bush claimed that he wants to spread freedom around the world. Freedom does best among people with the resources (and time) to care what their governments are doing. In other words, democracies work best in nations that are relatively affluent.
America's anti-dumping laws are just a fancy redesign of old-fashioned protections so as to get around WTO rules. They undermine America's image around the world, and make the president's desire to spread freedom a lot more difficult.
Bush needs to learn that you aren't going to find a receptive audience when you've done the equivalent of slapping them in the hotel bar a few hours before. Protecting America's food producing industry HURTS the third world. They will respond accordingly, in ways not conducive to American interests.
