terça-feira, setembro 16, 2003
EU and US let down farmers in poor nations
Um artigo de Johan Norberg no Taipei Times [nota: este artigo foi publicado antes da conclusão da cimeira de Cancun]
(...)
Contrary to popular perception, the 1999 trade meeting in Seattle didn't fall apart because of protests. It collapsed because developing countries faced demands for environmental and labor standards without getting, in return, increased market access. If that happens in Cancun, developing countries may drop out of the trade talks. This would be a shock to the multilateral trade system. And it could end the wave of economic and political liberalization that has made life better in many parts of the world.
(...)
Some of the same is happening today and many poor countries feel betrayed. They were promised progress if they liberalized. But when they did, they weren't allowed access to the world economy. We dumped our subsidized goods in their countries. But they weren't allowed to export their goods to us. Brazilian President Lula da Silva has said that all his country's efforts and exports are useless "if the rich countries continue to preach free trade on one side and practice protectionism on the other side." South African President Thabo Mbeki has said that there is a real threat of famine in Africa, because of Western protectionism: "It remains an inexcusable shame."
We do not make friends with these double standards. Instead, anti-American and anti-Western movements surface. According to polls, globalization and trade are popular with the world's poor, but the rich countries and their policies are unpopular. So, in the end, many will dismiss the free market because they never see it in practice.
posted by Miguel Noronha 12:03 da tarde
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