Re: World Bank Study Contradicts Its Free-Trade Income Theories

Stuart,
I tend to agree with what you make of the world bank analysis... to a
certain extent. However, the point of the study, in my understanding, is not
that free trade has not been implemented but to the extent that it has it
has been implemented in the wrong way.
This means that what we have to look at is exactly what are the social,
economic and political structures, which within a particular historical and
cultural context gave rise to the implementation of such wrong-headed
policies.
"self interest, political expediency, and greed." are one of the causes and
boosted consequences of it, however one should not limit its perspective or
analysis to such a narrow view of the world system.
There are specific political economy particularities which within the
national boundaries of developing countries in Africa, Latin America and so
on, have been hampering development. Plus, while the EU and the US are two
of the major players to blame, it is not fair, or even more important, not
enough to say that it's all their fault when analysing the impact of free
trade on poverty.

Respectfully,
RM

Ricardo Migueis
Editorial Coordinator
O Mundo em Português

Researcher
Euro-Latin American Forum

Editor in Chief
Open Integration Newsletter

International and Strategic Studies Institute
(Lisbon - Portugal)
Email: rlm@ieei.pt
Tel: 00351 210 306 700
Site: www.ieei.pt

-----Original Message-----
From: Steven Howard <steven.howard@stevenhoward.com>
To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu <wsn@csf.colorado.edu>
Date: Quinta-feira, 5 de Setembro de 2002 19:32
Subject: Re: World Bank Study Contradicts Its Free-Trade Income Theories


>It is interesting that the World Bank Study can comment on whether Free
>Trade is beneficial when the reality of free trade in the world today is
>that it is mostly rhetoric as far as the goods and services that affect
poor
>and agrarian countries goes.  The US and EU still maintain fantasically
huge
>subsidies to their farm sectors and continue to dump the resulting product
>on world markets - thereby cutting prices to the poor and to farmers who do
>not have luxury of being coddled in this way.
>
>The thought that we have Free Trade is a well promoted and dangerous
>illusion, that allows backers of both sides of the free trade debate to
side
>step the real issues of how poverty is caused and maintained in much of the
>world through self interest, political expediency, and greed.
>
>If the US and EU were to open their borders to allow genuine free trade in
>food and agricultural goods then maybe some of these would have a chance to
>make a decent living.  As it stands today not only do these countries enjoy
>restricted access to markets in the wealthy countries through tarrifs and
>quotas, they also have barriers to surmount in the form of health and
safety
>standards which require sophisticated and expensive food processing and
>inspection infrastructures.
>
>Even a relatively well-off country like New Zealand where I live struggles
>with the protectionist policies of the EU and US - and has done so for the
>last 30 years. We are subject to quotas in Europe on our dairy exports and
>recently even lamb exports to the US were impacted by efforts to protect US
>sheep farmers.  Only a couple of months ago our relatively small steel
>industry was severly impacted by the US tarrifs on steel imports.
>
>To say Free Trade has failed the poor is simplistic given the fact that as
>far as many are concerned free trade has not actually been
>implemented -largely because the terms of "Free Trade" are dictated by the
>rich countries in the interests of a few.
>
>__________________________________________________________________
>Steven Howard steven.howard@stevenhoward.com
>ICQ#: 27020277
>Web: www.stevenhoward.com
>__________________________________________________________________
>Leap into the future first with your mind, your body can only follow.
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Carl Nordlund" <carl.nordlund@humecol.lu.se>
>To: <wsn@csf.colorado.edu>
>Sent: Thursday, September 05, 2002 9:47 PM
>Subject: VB: World Bank Study Contradicts Its Free-Trade Income Theories
>
>
>> Hi all,
>> Just got this from a colleague - might be of interest. It's from the
>> globalfarmcrisis mailing list.
>>
>> Carl
>>
>> >Subject: [globalfarmcrisis] World Bank Study Contradicts Its Free-Trade
>> Income
>> >  Theories
>
>