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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Grainne who wrote (65925)	12/9/1999 1:07:00 AM
From: nihil	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 108807

I think you refer to the turtle deflector for shrimp in warm waters. Once the panel has decided that the US was in the wrong, the U.S. was required to abolish the regulations (actually a law). But the U.S. trade authorities do not have the power to overturn law, so sanctions were ordered, and this means that the countries that offend us can retaliate -- but WTO cannot change our law. Similarly, the European ban on British beef is adjudged to permit UK to retaliate. But Blair says he will not retaliate lest the trade dispute expand. US can retaliate against European bans on hormone laden beef, and we have -- with bans on fancy European food and wine. All the expert panel decides is if some violation has occurred, and what the offended parties can impose in the form of retaliation. It is up to the injured parties to decide what to do. It is naturally in the interest of anyone who is injured either by the trade offense or the retaliation to try to blame it on someone else. The WTO expert panels are perfect as scapegoats. They represent only themselves, and not governments, and are paid well for their accepting the inevitable contumely. The rioting mobs, almost by definition, are thoroughly confused and ignorant. You will recall that many rightwingers violently opposed our joining WTO because they feared that our sovereignty would be insulted by the intrusion of the WTO. I haven't noticed black helicopters taking out Congress yet. It could happen I guess, but we have been retaliating like hell. I expect we will continue to do so. We've won 90 per cent of the WTO disputes so far.