A Travel and vacations forum. TravelBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » TravelBanter forum » Travel Regions » Europe
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Europe and the US on Free "trade"



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old January 14th, 2004, 09:52 PM
Runge
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Europe and the US on Free "trade"

Aaarrrgh here we go again with america and bush and america and bush and
america and bush...
Are U homesick ??

"Earl Evleth" a écrit dans le message de news:
...

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."

___



 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 04:54 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 TravelBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.