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Europe and the US on Free "trade"
Traveling is one area in which "free trade" can be broadly thought to exist. We can go to the country of our choice and spend what we spend, or not go and not spend. Travel has some restrictions, such as the US deciding which countries its citizens can not go to and that decision is not always made for reasons of safety. It should be. Indeed, the various Governments or the international community should warn travelers that certain countries are at risk. If an American is kidnapped in the Philippines, they US Government will have problems rushing in to release him or her. It is best to advise people to stay clear. American government restrictions on Americans traveling to Cuba are "senseless", a purely political policy. I don`t think any of the EU practices any travel restrictions for similar reasons. But like the US, "free trade" is a false term, especially in the agricultural area. The news this morning brings an item about Bush trying to sell "free trade to leaders of the Americas. One of the most abused areas of free trade are the US and European domestic sugar productions which are highly subsidized. Brazil, Cuba or many other tropical countries can do sugar much more cheaply. So if Bush wishes to take a leadership position, there is a start. Chirac might try the same thing. Earl ****** Bush Tries to Sell Free Trade at Summit By LISA J. ADAMS, Associated Press Writer MONTERREY, Mexico - President Bush told leaders from across the Americas that free trade is the best road to prosperity in the hemisphere, but several Latin American nations remained unconvinced. * Although they still have broad disagreements, leaders at the 34-nation Summit of the Americas worked hard Monday to show that relations were improving, pledging to strengthen democracy and fight terrorism in the region. The most visible example of that diplomatic outreach came when Bush invited Mexican President Vicente Fox to visit his Texas ranch. Fox accepted and praised Bush's new immigration proposal, which would allow some foreign workers to live temporarily in the United States. The presidents smiled, shook hands and walked together into the new Monterrey public arena, where heads of state formally inaugurated the two-day summit of the Organization of American States. Fox's spokesman, Agustin Gutierrez, said the tone of the bilateral meeting marked a "180-degree turn" from the past year, when Mexico and the United States faced off over the Iraq war and American executions of Mexican nationals. The Sept. 11 terror attacks also distracted Bush from the immigration overhaul sought by Fox. Bush also reached out to the rest of Latin America, saying his government was committed to "embracing the challenge of ... bringing all the hemisphere's people into the expanding circle of development." He added that all countries "must work to provide quality education and quality health care for all our citizens, especially those who suffer from HIV ( news -web sites )/AIDs." In another goodwill gesture, Secretary of State Colin Powell signed an agreement turning over to Peru $20 million allegedly stolen by a former Peruvian intelligence chief and stashed in American bank accounts. But several Latin American nations ‹ and even Canada ‹ challenged Bush's argument that all free trade roads lead to prosperity, saying the United States has an unfair competitive advantage. "Over the long term, trade is the most certain path to lasting prosperity," Bush said during the summit's opening ceremony. "Together we will ... lift all our nations, and show the world that free societies and free markets can deliver real benefits to our citizens." Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, who intended to use the summit partly to improve relations with Washington, criticized his southern neighbor's economic policies, saying developing countries cannot immediately compete in the cutthroat global economy. He said even the United States and other rich nations once "asked for time to adjust" to changing economies through agricultural subsidies and other supports. Martin added that the time for those nations to eliminate such programs "is long past due." The United States also faced opposition to its insistence on setting a 2005 deadline for the Free Trade Area of the Americas ‹ a hemisphere-wide trade zone ‹ in the summit's final declaration. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who opposes the accord, has pushed instead for a humanitarian fund that could be used to help countries during financial and natural disasters. Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo criticized U.S. officials for refusing to lower agricultural subsidies while asking poor nations "to play ball in the free trade court." Paraguay's president, Nicanor Duarte, called for "Americas for all people, not for a few." Chilean President Ricardo Lagos said: "This isn't the poorest continent, but it is perhaps one of the most unfair." Chavez, in a speech that ran long over the three-minute limit, passionately argued for "a new moral architecture" in the hemisphere that "favors the weakest." He said he would like to join the economies of Latin America before any formal trade ties are established with North America. What currently exists, he said, is an "infernal machine that produces more poor people each minute." Chavez also pointed out that the United States escaped the Depression not through initiatives like free trade, but through the New Deal, a far-reaching, socialist program that provided government jobs. As the Venezuelan president spoke, Brazilian ( news -web sites ) President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva nodded and smiled enthusiastically, while Bush, across the room, leaned tiredly on his hand. Bush referred to another controversial U.S. initiative when he urged countries to ban all corrupt officials from crossing their borders. The United States has asked other leaders to agree to a proposal that would ban corrupt nations from the OAS. "Today, I signed a proclamation denying corrupt officials entry into my country," Bush said Monday. "I urge other countries to take similar actions." The president also took aim at Chavez, who recently accused the United States of "sticking its nose" into his country's affairs when Washington urged that he allow a referendum on his recall from office to proceed. The "support of democratic institutions ... gives hope and strength to those struggling to preserve their God-given rights, whether in Venezuela, or Haiti, or Bolivia," Bush said. Chavez told reporters Monday that the United States was suffering from a "lack of information" and "great contradictions" in its attitude toward his country. "We are working to make clear to the world what we are," he said. "Venezuela has a vigorous, participative democracy with a country rebuilding itself from scratch." ___ |
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Europe and the US on Free "trade"
On 14/01/04 21:52, in article , "Runge"
wrote: Aaarrrgh here we go again with america and bush and america and bush and america and bush... Are U homesick ?? I took a U turn. Earl |
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