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Pastimes : The Naked Truth - Big Kahuna a Myth -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MythMan who wrote (26625)	3/21/1999 10:38:00 AM
From: accountclosed	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 86076

JJC admits I have never made a dime. and Wow, am I out of it! fnews.yahoo.com ok, maybe i left out a tiny bit of context <g>

To: MythMan who wrote (26625)	3/21/1999 11:28:00 AM
From: Lucretius	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 86076

I hear an angry bear off in the distance... how 'bout you? -g- this news is bullish isn't it? -g- ho ho ho... OPEC, Kosovo, IBM, gold rally? bond bomb? I love it when bad news hits all at once. Sunday March 21, 9:43 am Eastern Time Fears of US protectionism rise with trade deficit By Donna Smith WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - Record trade deficits and a congressional vote to slap quotas on steel imports are raising fresh worries that U.S. protectionist pressures are building despite a robust economy and a low unemployment rate. ''I am in the camp with those who are very nervous,'' said Christopher Parlin, a Washington trade lawyer and former U.S. Trade Representative official. ''The concern is what happens when the wonderfully positive economic period ends,'' he added. ''If we've got this level of protectionism lathering now, it is very worrisome.'' The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly last week for a bill that would curb steel imports for three years through quotas and tariffs. The vote was a big victory for the United Steelworkers of America, which lobbied lawmakers for months. The union argued that some 10,000 jobs were lost in the U.S. steel industry last year due to imports, and it fears more losses when a union contract with a job protection clause expires in July. The strong showing in the House -- 289-141 for the bill -- likely caused discomfort for President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination next year, analysts said. The bill was backed by a large number of Democrats who stood with Clinton during his impeachment trial and by a key Democratic support group. Record trade deficits are adding to administration worries. The Commerce Department reported last week that the deficit in January rose to a record $17 billion. The report underscored predictions that economic weakness in Asia, Latin America and Europe, and a strong U.S. economy, would result in a trade deficit this year topping last year's record $169 billion deficit. ''If the trade deficit continues to increase, it is more likely that trade issues are going to play a larger role in the political race in 2000,'' said Judith Lee, an international trade attorney with the Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher law firm. The steel workers union has now turned its attention to the Senate where West Virginia Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller has introduced a similar quota bill that has attracted 14 co-sponsors. Union President George Becker said last week he thought it would be difficult for Clinton to veto the legislation. Many analysts say they do not expect the full Senate to go for a quota bill, but that lawmakers may alter it or opt for alternative legislation to address the steel issue in a way that does not violate World Trade Organization rules. The quota bill would violate international trade rules. Russell Smith, an international trade attorney with Willkie Farr & Gallagher, said the campaign for congressional action launched last autumn by the steel workers and their companies has been effective. ''The campaign is having an effect in the Senate,'' he said. ''There are things that they might not have been inclined to do that they may be more inclined to do as a sop to the industry and labor in lieu of a quota bill.'' Analysts said the House vote signaled growing union muscle on the trade issue. For the past two years, union opposition to so-called fast track trade negotiation authority has kept it from passing the House of Representatives. The bill, which would give the president authority to negotiate deals that could not be amended by Congress, is seen as having little chance of passing Congress over the opposition of labor unions until after the 2000 presidential election. ''Trade is a very real concern,'' said Thea Lee, international trade expert at the AFL-CIO, a federation of unions representing 13 million workers. ''We're in a year where the trade deficit is likely to rise significantly and there is a lot of concern about the impact of globalization on the labor market.'' Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin said on Friday he was concerned about the message the congressional action would send to other countries that have resisted calls for trade barriers in the face of financial crises and economic recession. ''If we, the only major country in the world that really has a healthy economy, were to begin restricting access to our markets, it would create enormous pressure on other countries,'' Rubin told reporters. ''If that of course were to happen on a global basis, that would have enormously adverse consequences for our exports.''