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To: James Strauss who wrote (51785)	5/23/2000 12:01:00 PM
From: pater tenebrarum	Respond to of 99985

Jim, thanks...that's what i thought. as far as i know, it's not cut-and-dried yet. approval by the Senate if the vote passes the House is fairly certain. but the unions are set dead against it, and many Democrats are in their pockets apparently. that's not to say that there are no prominent Democrats in China's pockets...after all China has also learned what wonders campaign contributions can work. still, it seems a close call. personally i think it would be a good thing if the vote passed...i'm all for free trade. the adoption of free trade has benefited economic growth enormously. it forces uncompetitive industries to get into shape and leads to the global division of labor to become more efficient (i.e. every country concentrates on whatever things it does best). unfortunately 'free' trade is open to a lot of different interpretations. the European Union with its intricate bureaucracy and powerful vested interests seems less than enthusiastic about truly free trade. the same goes for Japan...the US seems the best of the lot among the industrialized nations, but also frequently invokes anti dumping regulations whenever an industry group becomes very vocal about overseas competition (the steel industry being the prime example). anyway, i think every small step that is taken towards freeing up trade should be enthusiastically supported. contrary to what the detractors say, in the long run even a unilateral removal of trade barriers is more helpful to the country removing them than to the countries keeping them in place. regards, hb