Home› Politics & Debate
If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Read the community guidelines before posting ✨
Options

Latin America tells Bush to stick 'free trade' up his arse

«134

Comments

  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    "Latin America tells Bush to stick 'free trade' up his arse"

    Um yeah but wasn’t FTAA a Latin American idea? And wasn’t it Clinton that adopted it? And hasn’t Bush always been lukewarm on the idea?

    The implication of the US and Bush as a big mighty bully forcing this on Latin America isn't true.

    Although I doubt the protesters in Argentina could really care about facts.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Disillusioned wrote:
    "Latin America tells Bush to stick 'free trade' up his arse"

    Um yeah but wasn’t FTAA a Latin American idea? And wasn’t it Clinton that adopted it? And hasn’t Bush always been lukewarm on the idea?

    The implication of the US and Bush as a big mighty bully forcing this on Latin America isn't true.

    Although I doubt the protesters in Argentina could really care about facts.

    Heh - now its your opportunity to back up your assertions with a source.

    Which 'Latin Americans' came up with the idea of the FTAA?

    Heres Bush being 'lukewarm' on the idea:
    "[The FTAA] will make our hemisphere the largest free-trade area in the world, encompassing 34 countries and 800 million people,"

    Imagine if he'd been enthustiastic about the idea........

    :eek2:
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    freethepeeps wrote:
    Heh - now its your opportunity to back up your assertions with a source.

    You read the BBC link Aladdin posted. :rolleyes:
    But as activists thunder about the supposed "imperialist agenda" of the US in advancing free trade, it is often forgotten that the FTAA was actually a Latin American idea...The Clinton administration was not at all keen on being tied down to a specific date for the creation of a common market encompassing 800 million people, but gave in to pressure from its neighbours. In fact, observers at the 1994 summit recall that developing nations were the ones lobbying hardest for trade reforms, even though it would be harder for them to compete once their tariff barriers had been removed...after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, all hopes of keeping the region's free trade ambitions on track were truly sunk. Suddenly, the Bush administration turned its back on its "backyard", focusing instead on national security and the "war on terror".
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Disillusioned wrote:
    You read the BBC link Aladdin posted. :rolleyes:

    Aah well, if the BBC says so it must be true.

    :rolleyes:

    Heres a different take on it:
    As journalist William Jasper noted following the Miami event, "the Summit of the Americas and the FTAA were conceived, nurtured, and brought to fruition by the Council of the Americas (David Rockefeller, founder and honorary chairman), the Americas Society (David Rockefeller, chairman), the Forum of the Americas (David Rockefeller, founder), the U.S. Council of the Mexico-U.S. Business Committee (Rodman C. Rockefeller, chairman), the Council on Foreign Relations (David Rockefeller, former chairman), the Trilateral Commission (David Rockefeller, founder and honorary chairman), the Chase Manhattan Bank (David Rockefeller, former chairman), and the Institute for International Economics (David Rockefeller, financial backer and board member)."

    Oh, and that was on the back of a suggestion by Castro that there should be an American Common Market..........

    What seems unlikely is that Latin American countries would have wanted an agreement based soley on the USAs terms.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    the point is that america themsevles haven't stuck to removing the subsidies on their farm produce whilst forcing the americas to?

    no wonder they wanna drop out
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    exactly, it's one rule for the developed countries and another for the developing ones......america demands the rest of the world open up their trade borders for a 'free market' yet its protectionist policies (import tariffs, subsidies, etc) make it impossible to trade on an equal footing.........no wonder chavez has told them where to go, i personally think if the american backed military coup had successfully ousted him a couple of years back the FTAA would already have been implemented.......
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Chavez has been giving excellent stick to the US government for a few years now :D
  • Options
    Teh_GerbilTeh_Gerbil Posts: 13,332 Born on Earth, Raised by The Mix
    Aladdin wrote:
    Chavez has been giving excellent stick to the US government for a few years now :D

    Yeah. I still love how these countries manage to survive without the US or trade or anything. Apparently they should collapse and be terrible...

    Ah well. It's about time more people told Bush to fuck the hell off.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Aladdin wrote:
    Chavez

    ...is a traitorous bastard who associates with Fidel Castro.


    sorry I am just a little bitter, he started off so well sticking it to the US Corporations, got my hopes up, then he starts hanging round with a dictator.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Teh_Gerbil wrote:
    Ah well. It's about time more people told Bush to fuck the hell off.
    right on :yes:
  • Options
    Teh_GerbilTeh_Gerbil Posts: 13,332 Born on Earth, Raised by The Mix
    AllAmericanRageJunky wrote:
    ...is a traitorous bastard who associates with Fidel Castro.

    who wanted to co-opperate with the USA and asked to after the Revolution, hoping for lots of trade links and peace with America.

    And was promtly told where to go, for overthrowing the corrupt, drug-dealing, child-exploitation promoting US backed regeime.

    Hardly clean on either side.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    AllAmericanRageJunky wrote:
    ...is a traitorous bastard who associates with Fidel Castro.


    sorry I am just a little bitter, he started off so well sticking it to the US Corporations, got my hopes up, then he starts hanging round with a dictator.


    yueh and then your governmernt tried backing a military coup against an elected leader - thankfully most of country was with chavez

    can you see why they love him there?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I know this is an odd question, bu are there any good sites to get unbiased information on free trade? I'd like to learn about it.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    -[MoonRat]- wrote:
    I know this is an odd question, bu are there any good sites to get unbiased information on free trade? I'd like to learn about it.

    I don't think its a neutral concept - you either think its possible, or you don't....

    Theres some links here which argue for and against the concept.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    -[MoonRat]- wrote:
    I know this is an odd question, bu are there any good sites to get unbiased information on free trade? I'd like to learn about it.


    free trade if done basically is removing import duties and export subsidies so people get to choose their suppliers on the real cost not the selective costs imposed by governments like having quotas on sugar amde outside the eu and then selling our subsidised sugars which puts them out of business

    problem is it lands up countries being reliant on a cash crop which can destablise a country like if coffee bean prices fall
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Teh_Gerbil wrote:
    who wanted to co-opperate with the USA and asked to after the Revolution, hoping for lots of trade links and peace with America.

    And was promtly told where to go, for overthrowing the corrupt, drug-dealing, child-exploitation promoting US backed regeime.

    Hardly clean on either side.

    never said it was. But it certainly detracts from his message when ya see him next to the leader of Cuba.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    wheresmyplacebo wrote:
    yueh and then your governmernt tried backing a military coup against an elected leader - thankfully most of country was with chavez

    can you see why they love him there?

    Oh I can see why, and frankly the US government had no business trying to overthrow him.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    wheresmyplacebo wrote:
    free trade if done basically is removing import duties and export subsidies so people get to choose their suppliers on the real cost not the selective costs imposed by governments like having quotas on sugar amde outside the eu and then selling our subsidised sugars which puts them out of business

    problem is it lands up countries being reliant on a cash crop which can destablise a country like if coffee bean prices fall

    :lol:
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    minimi38 wrote:
    :lol:
    :confused:
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    How addicted to coffee is the western world?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    minimi38 wrote:
    How addicted to coffee is the western world?
    ....OH! :lol::lol:
  • Options
    Teh_GerbilTeh_Gerbil Posts: 13,332 Born on Earth, Raised by The Mix
    More to the point - you yanks keep heading over the north ot south bored to buy Cigars! From Cuba!

    RageJunky, care to post me some actually mate? :P
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Teh_Gerbil wrote:
    More to the point - you yanks keep heading over the north ot south bored to buy Cigars! From Cuba!

    RageJunky, care to post me some actually mate? :P


    :lol: love to, except I have no clue how to get them. My bi-weekly fair is usualy one of thse $.89 pieces ya pick up at a quick-stop.
  • Options
    Teh_GerbilTeh_Gerbil Posts: 13,332 Born on Earth, Raised by The Mix
    Hop over to Canadia or Mexico quickly. They still import them ;p

    I suggest you go buy some. :yes:
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Odd attitudes from people who support EU (a free-trade area) and the Make Poverty History campaign (one of whose main campaigns was for freer trade)........

    If this agreement were to result in greater access for Latin American countries to US markets then the poor people of these countries would in general benefit........
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    MPH was never going to work. Ironically hgihlighted by their fashion bands being made in sweatshops. What Latin america needs is mor co-operation between themselves and a principle to stop any corporations extorting profits from the people's resources
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Toadborg wrote:
    Odd attitudes from people who support EU (a free-trade area) and the Make Poverty History campaign (one of whose main campaigns was for freer trade)........

    If this agreement were to result in greater access for Latin American countries to US markets then the poor people of these countries would in general benefit........


    yes in principle but in practice it would mean america could dump its subsidised goods upon them with no intentions of removing its protectionist policies as is what happens with NAFTA (north american free trade agreement)
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Toadborg wrote:
    If this agreement were to result in greater access for Latin American countries to US markets then the poor people of these countries would in general benefit........

    Do you really believe that.....? Free trade (at least in practise) isn't about helping poor people, it's about opening up more markets for the big western multinationals.......
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Free market capitalism has never helped working class people and the poor- on the contrary. So I would not expect this American venture to end up any different.

    Incidentally the EU is far more than just a free trade area- and thank fuck for that.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Aladdin wrote:
    Free market capitalism has never helped working class people and the poor- on the contrary. So I would not expect this American venture to end up any different.

    Incidentally the EU is far more than just a free trade area- and thank fuck for that.

    The EU is still more or less driven by business profit though...
Sign In or Register to comment.