When Even the WTO Is Brighter Than Our Domestic ‘America Last’ Proponents – Opinion

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Everyone in DC has spent the last half-century-plus pretending the horrendously anti-US, one-sided, unfair global trade market is “free trade.”

Everybody, except Donald Trump.

Trump Trade: DC Should Do Everything Differently

As a part of Trump’s trade transformation, he put pressure on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to reform and modernize — to address a global market that was cheating in ways the WTO hadn’t yet evolved to address.

Trump Says Talks Began on ‘Reform’ of World Trade Organization

That was the agreement we reached at that moment.

Oh Look – Trump Is Right on Trade

And we continue to be in total agreement, even though Trump moved out of DC.

The WTO Needs to Modernize on the Right Things – and Reject the Wrong Things

To be able to ensure fair and free trade, the WTO should address massive export and domestic subsidies.

Oh, look — they are.

WTO Rules Against India’s Export Subsidies:

“The WTO’s dispute settlement panel ruled that India’s export subsidy schemes, including the provision for special economic zones, violated core provisions of global trade norms.”

Every penny a government spends subsidizing a product is a penny less that country’s exporters can artificially charge below the fair, free-market price. It undermines the efforts of all other producers on the planet.

That ain’t free trade:

“India is one of the largest sugar producers in the world.  India produces over 30 million tons of milled sugar in most years with the support of government production subsidies and also uses export subsidies to place six to seven million metric tons of sugar on the world market.”

Shocker: India mass-subsidizes its sugar — so India mass-produces sugar.  And then floods the global market with its artificially-below-market-price sugar, ruining it for all the rest of us who produce it.

Importing Government Subsidies: The Worst of Fake ‘Free Trade’

Oh: And, of course, it ain’t just sugar:

“The US had earlier accused India of giving prohibited subsidies to Indian steel producers, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, information technology, textiles and apparel.”

And, of course, it ain’t just India.

Global Trade Alert:

“Corporate subsidies are a major source of controversy in the world trading system, exacerbated by a lack of comparable and reliable information on subsidy schemes and awards.

“The latest Global Trade Alert report assembles an inventory of 18,137 corporate subsidies…since November 2008 to demonstrate that the cumulative effect of thousands of largely under-the-radar screen corporate subsidies has taken its toll on the competitive conditions faced by foreign manufacturers seeking to sell into the (world’s) markets….”

China’s Subsidies Are Destroying America

Trump’s Brazil Trade Deal: Let’s Kill Their Massive Subsidies, Shall We?

Korea: A Study of the Role Of Export Subsidies

But let’s take a win when we get it, shall we?  It’s very rare that we get it:

“‘We recommend that India bring its WTO-inconsistent measures into conformity with its obligations under the Agreement on Agriculture and the SCM Agreement,’ the (WTO) panel said in its report.

“‘We recommend that India withdraw its prohibited subsidies under the Production Assistance, the Buffer Stock, and the Marketing and Transportation Schemes within 120 days from the adoption of our Report.’”

Here’s another shocker….

India will appeal WTO Panel Decision on Sugar Sops

Oh: And if India’s subsidies are so awful even the WTO objects?

How out of it are you if you’re an American and still complaining about the US’s TINY sugar assistance program?  This program is totally subsidy-free.  This is a small attempt to offset massive Indian subsidies (and even larger Brazilian subsidies).

Meet Mister Out-of-It….

Kellogg’s, Christmas Cookies, and America’s Idiotic Sugar Policy

In which Mister Out-of-It demands we allow our domestic farmers to be completely overrun by foreign-government-mass-subsidized imports.  Even the WTO has reacted against these subsidies.

Of course, and most unfortunately, Mister Out-of-It ain’t nearly alone in his US-murdering idiocy.

Republicans Continue Their Rush to Return to ‘America Last’ Trade Ideas

You can sum it up with Unilateral Disarmament.

“We’ll stop all our minuscule attempts to fend off your MASSIVE, market-warping policies – while allowing you to continue unabated your MASSIVE, market-warping policies.”

It is obvious that this insanity will lead to the inevitable: No domestic production of anything.

The foreign government would massively subsidise our local food industry.  Creating a Dust Belt — to go along with our Rust Belt.

US Farmers Are Food Manufacturers – and We Need Policies that Keep Them Here

National Security and Growing Our Own Food

And how idiotic is Mister Out-of-It’s idiocy given what the global China Virus lockdowns have revealed about how over-a-barrel we are in our reliance on foreign stuff?

Supply Chain: We’re Running Out of Food

US Supply Chain Shortages and The Consequences if Globalization Run Amok

America faces Supply-Chain disruption and shortages

Check out this list of supply chain shortfalls

And Mister Out-of-It’s idiotic “solution?”  Is to open ourselves up to even more foreign-subsidized stuff — even further eviscerating what little is left of our domestic production.

Include, particularly, the domestic food manufacturing industry.  Because eating isn’t very important.

Let’s conclude:

We’re right.  Trump was and is right.

The WTO has begun to recognize this.

Meanwhile, Mister Out-of-It – and many, many other America Last DC denizens – remain steadfastly impervious to facts.