World Trade is a complex and serious problem, but WTO is one of the best things that could happen to the world. The only hope of the children of the poor of the third world is foreign investment on a huge scale by the most advanced countries in the world. The typical third world country is too unproductive to feed itself and export enough goods abroad. As a result, it is too disordered and unfocused to improve itself. It is xenophobic and full of people believing counterproductive or just plane silly rules, religions, and cultures.
Yet we know that fossil countries have awoken and built their economies, built medical schools, trained engineers, learned to export goods always with substantial foreign help. Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, ROK, Thailand are examples. It hasen't been easy, and the first generations suffer horribly. But seeing how these tigers have learned, become civilized and more humane is a strong recommendation for freer trade. Freer trade has also been injurious to those in developed countries who can't foresee the future and retool themselves to fit in. The fact is that the cheapest steel in the world is made by U.S. minimills (e.g. Nucor) while U.S. Steel and Bethlehem have shrunk and can't compete without substantial foreign investment. They are throttled by obsolete machinery and vastly overpaid unionized workers.
No one should ever criticise free trade from a social welfare point of view until reading the literature on the Hecksher-Ohlin-Samuelson Factor Price Equalization Theorem. An enlightened WTO could require environmental and human rights protections as a precondition to membership. But most third world countries wouldn't play on those terms. Nor is this the fault exclusively of First World Multinationals.
Besides, no one is forced to ignore environment and human rights. WTO rulings are strictly speaking advisory. Sanctions can be ignored. If compensation is ordered until the breach is stopped, a country can simply pay the ordered compensation. In particular, the U.S. (which hs s won most of its disputes) can simply go its way. Should we pull out of WTO the game would be up.
I hope Buchanon shows his courage by entering the No-Protest Zone and gets imprisoned for his beliefs. Jess showed the way. |
