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| Reference Material |
| US, allies preach free trade but practice protectionism By Warren Vieth, Los Angeles Times May 2, 2002, Today The following article is being reprinted in toto to reinforce this writer�s position that the pragmatic and sensible position for the Philippines should be to also preach Free Trade but at the same time protect our industries and our jobs against foreign competition, as enunciated in my previous articles Protectionism Wins over Free Trade and More on Free Trade. WASHINGTON � The United States and other big countries still are promoting the virtues of free trade, but they are moving to protect vulnerable industries at a pace that undermines their rhetoric. The downturn in the global economy and the collapse of prices of many commodities are contributing to a notable increase in protectionist actions � and retaliatory responses � by governments around the world. Setting the tone, some analysts assert, is the United States, traditionally the bandleader for trade expansion. �The more the big economies like the United States and the European Union appear protectionist, the more developing countries feel justified in doing the same thing,� said Cliff Stevenson, chief economist with Mayer, Brown, Rowe and Maw, a global law firm based in London. �The danger is there will be a domino effect.� When US President George W. Bush meets with European leaders Thursday, he will try to head off a trade war over his 30-percent steel tariffs. Foreign leaders are already spoiling for a fight over $50 billion in US farm subsidies taking shape on Capitol Hill. Some members of Congress want to attach new protective measures to �fast-track� trade legislation making its way through the Senate. But the United States has plenty of company. From Brazil to India, governments are responding to growing pressure to come to the aid of industries that wind up on the losing end of trade liberalization. Increasingly, they are seeking relief under �anti-dumping� rules that prohibit predatory pricing by exporters and �safeguard� provisions that give hard-hit domestic producers a time-out from global competition. According to analysis by Stevenson�s law firm, protectionist activity reached �unprecedented levels� last year, with 24 countries initiating a record 348 anti-dumping investigations, 53 safeguard actions and 27 anti-subsidy inquiries. The United States and India were the most aggressive users of anti-dumping rules, which allow a country to impose punitive tariffs if foreign companies flood its markets with goods priced at less than the cost of production. Other anti-dumping �superpowers� were the European Union, Argentina, Canada, Australia and Brazil, the study said. ***** I hope that Free Trade advocates, including President Arroyo, now realize that the slogans peddled by Jess Estanislao and Bernie Villegas, the gurus of President Fidel V Ramos when he (Ramos) embraced for us not only Free Trade, but ACCELERATED Free Trade, have made the Philippines the Sucker of the Global Village and caused the loss of livelihood of tens of thousands of Filipino workers. ACA. |