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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group
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To: Hawkmoon who wrote (12114)11/30/2001 8:12:49 PM
From: Doug Soon  Read Replies (1) of 281500
 
Hawk,

I have heard those arguments before and they are no more illuminating now than before. Determining cost is absolutely the most controversial element to this conflict. It's not like manufacturing chewing gum which has more easily identifiable cost components. The US has a mechanism of forest management that is different from Canada. Which one is right? Probably neither, but the US adding a 32% tariff in the last 2 months is clear protectionism.

There is no doubt that the sagging Canadian dollar has exacerbated the issue. The weaker the Canadian dollar is, the lower the apparent cost structure to produce Canadian wood. Should Canada be punished for a weaker dollar? Every proponent of free trade will say no. Free traders will say let Canada's trade balances grow to where the Canadian dollar appreciates and finds a fair market level obviously higher than it is today.

What the protectionists are saying is that they want the Canadian dollar down and to stay down. That is so contrary with the spirit and intent of any free trade policy to make NAFTA ineffectual. I never did believe from the outset that NAFTA would benefit Canada. I know what free trade is. I see it in Europe with the unimpeded flow of goods and services from country to country. I see an attempt to unify currencies with the Euro. NAFTA is nothing more than a trade agreement that sets rules for the traffic of various goods and services across borders, including quotas.

Not free trade at all. Never was. May the fleas of a thousand camels infest Brian Mulroney's shorts.
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