Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean today announced his full endorsement of the Bush Administration's trade policies, rejecting what he called the "failures" of Bill Clinton and other Democrats.
Now I've got your attention, right? Well, it was a slight exaggeration, but not by much:
One multilateral institution that might not fare so well in a Dean administration, though, is the World Trade Organization. In what would be a radical departure, China and other countries could get trade deals with the United States only if they adopted "the same labor laws and labor standards and environmental standards" as the United States. Whether or not that demand was consistent with WTO rules? "That's right." With no concession to their relative level of development? "Why should there be? They have the right to have a middle class same as everyone else."Dean says, "We've tried it" -- NAFTA, WTO -- "for 10 years, and has it succeeded? No. . . . What's the purpose of trade? If it's to create jobs, we haven't done that in America."
In other words, he endorses Bush 43-style protectionism over Clinton-style freedom. Oy. Normally, I'm opposed to blind partisanship, but this is one case where it might actually do some good.
I guess Democratic primary season is never a good time for free trade. Which is a shame, because the Guardian now has an excellent blog on agricultural subsidies: KickAAS.
Posted by digamma at August 25, 2003 04:45 PM | TrackBackIt's a spectrum. Being against the WTO does not mean you are a protectionist. Being for carbon taxes, and ensuring human rights, dignities, and living wages for all laborers does not make you a protectionist or a commie.
The economic function is a vector function. Trade is just one dimension in that vector. You may be optimizing the free trade component, but you may not be maximizing the economic function itself as you are ignoring the other dimensions (environmental wealth, ability for children to have a childhood and not work, reduction of slavery, individual rights, ability of an individual to shape his community...)
There is nothing magical about the WTO. An organization of people, of lawyers, of special interests and agendas. Of economists that want to maximize long term trade even when there is no support to mitigate the short and mid term turmoil.
I like Dean even more now.
Posted by: jerry at September 7, 2003 12:15 AMtiuj kreitajoj nenion suspektas -- ili tute ne komprenas la sarkasmon. Neniam dum mia vivo mi estis tiel kontenta, tiel trankvila, tiel plena de bena paco, kiel hierau, kiam mi eksciis, ke Mikel-Angelo ne vivas plu. Ni eltiris ci tiun sciigon el nia gvidisto. Li kondukis nin tra mejloj da pentrajoj kaj skulptajoj en la vastaj koridoroj de Vatikano, tra mejloj da pentrajoj kaj skulptajoj en dudek aliaj palacoj; li montris al ni la grandan pentrajon de la Siksta Kapelo kaj freskojn, kiuj suficus por freskigi la tutan cielon, -- preskau cio estis farita de Mikel-Angelo. Ni decidis uzi kontrau li rimedon, per kiu ni venkis jam multajn gvidistojn -- malsago kaj idiotaj demandoj. Ci tiuj kreitajoj nenion suspektas -- ili tute ne komprenas la sarkasmon.
Posted by: william at January 10, 2005 07:20 AM