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Well, the only really meaningful round of trade talks for 90% of the worlds people, to reduce protectionism in agriculture, is dead...
For once, I'm not going to bash the US on this. They already have the worlds most open (large) economy.
This is largely the fault of shortsighted, greedy, provincial middle powers and incompetant, greedy, provincial little powers. They cut off their noses to spite their faces.
Surely reducing tariffs in areas in which you are never ever going to be competitive in the mid to short term as a carrot for the US is a small price to pay for giving the majority of your country a decent shot at a sustainable business?
Apparently not....apparently Africa, Latin America, and Poor-Asia really need to protect all their high-end manufacturing and services industries
It has nothing to do with the fact that the tiny number of people involved in those businesses in the Third World are politically significant while the great brown mass of people are.....not.
So I'm afraid that this one can't be pinned on the USA. The demands at Doha on the USA were unreasonable in my opinion. No self-interested government would have agreed to them, regardless of the powerful agribusiness lobby.
For once, I'm not going to bash the US on this. They already have the worlds most open (large) economy.
This is largely the fault of shortsighted, greedy, provincial middle powers and incompetant, greedy, provincial little powers. They cut off their noses to spite their faces.
Surely reducing tariffs in areas in which you are never ever going to be competitive in the mid to short term as a carrot for the US is a small price to pay for giving the majority of your country a decent shot at a sustainable business?
Apparently not....apparently Africa, Latin America, and Poor-Asia really need to protect all their high-end manufacturing and services industries
It has nothing to do with the fact that the tiny number of people involved in those businesses in the Third World are politically significant while the great brown mass of people are.....not.
So I'm afraid that this one can't be pinned on the USA. The demands at Doha on the USA were unreasonable in my opinion. No self-interested government would have agreed to them, regardless of the powerful agribusiness lobby.
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