Damn Protectionist Bush!!!

[Roland]

They're still scared of anything resembling Gore ?

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Roland
They're still scared of anything resembling Gore ?

[axi]

what does the US export these days?

Weapons, films and lawyers....

Seriously, I read somewhere that the US is exporting more than 100 billion dollars worth of legal advice annually.

[Adam Smith]

Bad idea, Bush. This is liable to hurt us more than it helps us with respect to foreign protectionism. Moreover, every domestic producer and his brother is going to be lining up hat in hand for some kind of relief. The only minor grace is that it would have been far worse with Gore/Gephart in charge.

I agree with Ramo that there rare still plenty of US barriers which should be removed, such as sugar and textile quotas. Quotas tend to be worse, because they often cause even a greater restriction on supply.

Axi:

I read somewhere that the US is exporting more than 100 billion dollars worth of legal advice annually.

Excellent. Our campaign for world domination is going exactly as planned.

[DanS]

"Seriously, I read somewhere that the US is exporting more than 100 billion dollars worth of legal advice annually."

This wouldn't surprise me, if you do your counting of "exports" very broadly to include legal advice rendered to American subsidiaries of international companies. FYI, $100 billion would be about half (?) of all legal services rendered in the US.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Ecthelion
why didn't you guys elect Gore?

the rest of the world will make him pay

We did elect Gore! That's what sucks about America. Bush was basically appointed president by the Florida State Supreme court. What I find hilarious, is that all this stuff happened in the state where his brother is governor. Coincidence? I think not.

[Guynemer]

Originally posted by Sava


We did elect Gore! That's what sucks about America. Bush was basically appointed president by the Florida State Supreme court. What I find hilarious, is that all this stuff happened in the state where his brother is governor. Coincidence? I think not.

What I find hilarious is that you think the Florida State Supreme Court appointed Bush as president. The Florida Supremes supported GORE; it was the United States Supreme Court that supported Bush.

I think Gore got screwed too, but damn man, get your facts straight. And try to avoid calling Muslims "an infestation" in the future. It makes you look like a jackass.

[Kyle]

http://slate.msn.com/?id=2062852

Article from Slate that explains why these tariffs are legal. So this should hold up against any appeals to the WTO?


Except...

Contrary to the protestations of the steel industry and many politicians (including President Bush and Robert Zoellick, the Bush administration's trade representative), Bush's decision wasn't caused by "unfair" foreign trade practices such as "dumping" steel in the United States at below-market prices or propping up industries with illegal subsidies. Rather, Bush invoked an infrequently used U.S. law known as "Section 201" (named after the relevant portion of the 1974 trade act) that's designed to protect U.S. industries from an onslaught of fair trade. The law, which is an accepted part of international trade agreements, allows the United States to protect a domestic industry that's suffering from the competition caused by a wave of fairly traded foreign imports.

[Gatekeeper]

Originally posted by DanS
This decision sucks and it points towards more BS protectionist farm bills. I just hope Bush was smart enough to get as much or more value out of Senator Byrd in order to do it.

I live in farm country. A lot of farmers around here are trying to figure out why crop prices have plummeted since the mid-1990s while the cost at the grocery store continues to climb.

I remember a time when soybeans were getting $6 plus per bushel. Nowadays farmers are lucky to get $4 a bushel. Same goes for corn and wheat. I guess the agri-giants like getting el cheapo South American soybeans, et al., while sticking it to U.S. farmers and consumers at the same time.

Those are just my surface impressions. I'm sure there's a very good reason for the collapsing commodity prices and prices at the grocery stores that never seem to decrease, but increase.

CYBERAmazon

[Lonestar]

Originally posted by Faeelin
I think the tariffs are wrong, and I think it's even worse how he does this but lets American companies use Chinese rocketry to launch satellites.

Brilliant Bush.

On the other hand, the tariffs don't apply to Mexico. Could this be part of a scheme to stem immigration, develop mexico, and create another power on the American continent?

Oh wait, it's Bush.

At least he didn't accept campaign funds from the Chinese Communists.



Also, I think he's on the right track with Mexico. It doesn't make any sense to have the worlds wealthiest country right next to one of the poorer countries. (last I checked, Mexico was equal to Indonesia in economic strength, which probaly means the standard of living is higher, but still...)


Put this protectionist steel hooya maybe a bit too much for me. (on the other hand, if the EU is still screwing around with Banana Tarifs and textile tariffs, maybe this will slap some sense into them)

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by H Tower
i wasn't even aware we had a steel industry anymore why can't we just let some little backwater country do that stuff for us while we make hi tech stuff? oh wait, we let taiwan do that for us too. what does the US export these days?

Buggy PC software.

[Urban Ranger]

Dubya is a silly person.

Just because he slammed imported steel doesn't mean affected countries will slam US steel.

Now they can target where the US hurts, such as computer software, agricultural produce, pharmaceuticals, and so forth.

BTW it's South Korea that will retaliate, though I didn't know the Ozzies export so much steel to the US a year.

[Roland]

100 billion $ exports in US legal services ? I knew the US entertainment industry is big, but I didn't know it's that big....

About the legality:

"The law, which is an accepted part of international trade agreements, allows the United States to protect a domestic industry that's suffering from the competition caused by a wave of fairly traded foreign imports."

This is put in an extremely sloppy and misleading way. "the law" is not "part" of the respective agreements. It is AFAIK not even the subject of an explicit waiver or similar clause.

But yes, you can act against "disruptive" imports. But you may want to check the clause. With all the WTO agreements it's rather messy, but in principle we should still be at the old GATT:

Art XIX section 1 GATT 1947:

If, as a result of unforeseen developments and of the effect of the obligations incurred by a contracting party under this Agreement, including tariff concessions, any product is being imported into the territory of that contracting party in such increased quantities and under such conditions as to cause or threaten serious injury to domestic producers in that territory of like or directly competitive products, the contracting party shall be free, in respect of such product, and to the extent and for such time as may be necessary to prevent or remedy such injury, to suspend the obligation in whole or in part or to withdraw or modify the concession.

This or a provision modelled after this one should be in question here. So, free-trade agreements allow such a thing UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS. Well, what was unforeseen ? Aren't imports already falling after the asian crisis glut ? How is it related to the opening of markets ? The crisis is in the lack of restructuring and bancruptcies among the old bloated steelmakers, and in the silly overvalued dollar (based on a US economic policy relying more on asset bubbles than on actually producing something).

So that'll take a lot of explaining from the US to defend this before the WTO.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Guynemer


What I find hilarious is that you think the Florida State Supreme Court appointed Bush as president. The Florida Supremes supported GORE; it was the United States Supreme Court that supported Bush.

I think Gore got screwed too, but damn man, get your facts straight. And try to avoid calling Muslims "an infestation" in the future. It makes you look like a jackass.

LOL... I am a jackass, but at least I admit it.

All religion is an infestation. Maybe I should have been more clear. Muslims aren't any worse, in my eyes, than Catholics or Lutherans.

BTW, the Florida Supreme Court stopped the recount. I do have my facts straight you troll.

[Saint Marcus]

Of course, he's a damned ape 51
No, he has a plan 2
Bananarama! 2

that says about enough.

Bush is such a damned liar and that if he wasn't that stupid I'd think he's doing it on purpose.

I certainly hope this leads to huge sanctions against the US, as the EU has already said it would impose. And make the promise to lift the sanctions as soon as Bush is deposed.