Battleangel

BBC News: EU opens new front in trade war

BBC News: Democrats size up trade issues

How long will it be before the US decides to quit the WTO now that it is really starting to work against them? This deadlock will no doubt remain and the implications could be disastrous. There is no denying that the tension between the US and the rest of the world (read: Europe) is greater today than it has been for decades. It is then unfortunate that these highly xenophobic views have been made part of the presidential campaign. A campaign which will probably revolve around who can save the most imaginary jobs and get into the biggest pissing contest with Europe. I.e. who is the biggest isolationist idiot.
But that still remains to be seen though. The indication is that even the liberals aren’t as liberal as they once were. If ever. As the article points out, most people remember the days of Bill Clinton, and he actually went against the opposition within his own party. And in the end he too failed the illustrious ideals of the WTO. Why is difficult to say, maybe the general opinion on the matter had finally sunk in. And the labor issue looked like a good way to give the US an upper hand in something that wasn’t directly trade related. Not so liberal after all ..

As for the anti-WTO sentiments of common people I do not quite understand that. The anti-globalization crowd is a ragtag group with an agenda about as thought thru as getting up in the morning. The member states of the WTO obviously know all the pitfalls already. They can look out for themselves. So in a way these ragtag political activists are just about as imperialistic as the system they are said to fight in that they believe developing nations need to be coddled because they are not fit to fend for themselves.

But civil disorder and manifestations aren’t my cup of tea exactly. Something to dwell upon in a future rant perhaps.