Do not make the mistake of thinking that because my conclusion is the same as another person's that my reasoning is the same
The nasty catfish war with Vietnam has tempted American shrimpers to engage in some trade mischief of their own. Using spurious allegations of unfair trade practices, American catfish farmers have been able to hoodwink the federal government into slapping tariffs of up to 64 percent on Vietnamese catfish. A group of shrimpers from eight Southern states is now preparing to file a claim requesting a similar tax on imported shrimp.
Americans believe in the free trade game until they start losing at it. Then we accuse the other side of cheating. That is the message these baseless dumping cases send to the rest of the world. It is understandable for people to seek protection when their livelihoods are adversely affected by trade. But as a nation that benefits from freer trade, the United States cannot afford to continue encouraging these cases. They antagonize poor farmers and laborers around the world who discover that the world's superpower does not really believe in what it preaches.
Posted by P6 at October 6, 2003 12:48 AM | Trackback URL: http://www.prometheus6.org/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1861