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To: Yogizuna who wrote (12787)	12/12/2003 11:45:53 PM
From: Lazarus_Long	Respond to of 17683

But anarchy is exactly what you had prior to GATT and its successors. You had some bunch of manufacturers or farmers who were being undercut by foreign competitors. They pressured you, the gov't, to DO SOMETHING! Specifically, put tariffs on the imports to get their price up to the domestic level or, better, higher. Then the guys you just shafted put pressure their gov't to lock your manufacturers out. And sometimes add more tariffs as punishment. You reacted to that. They reacted back. NOBODY set any rules on who could put what tariffs on what for what reasons. THAT was anarchy. If you're familiar with the history of the Great Depression, you know tariff wars were a major contributing factor. This isn't peanuts were talking about (well, actually, sometimes it is). To prevent this tit-for-tat warfare, agreements were made between nations regulating amounts of tariffs and punishment for violating the rules. It was considered (and still is) a plum to be a member of one of these agreements because it increased international trade and made everyone richer. Before the US Constitution, it was legal for the 13 states, as independent nations, to put tariffs on each others products. And they did so. One of the things recognized by the Founders was that everyone would be richer if trade between states was unhindered. THAT was put into the Constitution. Interstate tariffs were effectively prohibited. Article I Section 8 To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes; ............................................................ No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one state over those of another: nor shall vessels bound to, or from, one state, be obliged to enter, clear or pay duties in another. Do you think we Americans would be better off if every one of the 50 states could tax import of products from other states? Another example is the European Union. It started as Benelux- -an agreement between 3 of the smallest European states to eliminate tariffs between each other. Over time, it evolved into the current EU. Do you think Europeans would be better off if each nation still tried to block trade with the others? Are there still abuses of the system under WTO? Probably. But you try to straighten that out within the framework, not start a trade war. Can you keep, say US steelworkers employed by tariffs? Yes. You withdraw from WTO and implement tariffs. But other nations that make steel will retaliate with tariffs on something else. And you lose that trade. AND US consumers have to pay more for steel and products made from steel. Great gain there. Much of "trade" now is in information. Many jobs leaving for India are IT jobs. Since the federal gov't has control of international trade, it could probably pass a law requiring that customers service reps talking to US citizens be US residents. It would probably even be legal. India, of course, would find a way to retaliate. And the US is fighting history here: there has been a technological change. You can't uninvent the technology, just like the genie couldn't be put back in the bottle after the atomic bomb was developed just because people didn't like it. International telecommunications is cheap now, where it wasn't previously. THAT changes things. That means customer service can be done from India. And software can be developed for US companies in India and China and other places. Insurance claims can be processed in Indonesia. You can try to reverse history. But you are ultimately going to lose. A better strategy might be to find a way to adapt to it.