Posted on 06/13/2008 1:17:36 AM PDT by bruinbirdman
Italy has hitched its wagon to the forthcoming French presidency of the European Union, declaring a new trade “axis” to push their case within the World Trade Organisation.
Diplomats on Wednesday said a stronger protectionist stance against China, India and other developing countries was emerging under Italy’s new centre-right government. Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister, views Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, as an economic and security ally.
In return, Italy is strongly supporting Mr Sarkozy’s controversial proposals for a “Mediterranean Union” that will be formally launched next month when Paris takes over the EU presidency. Italy is also backing a French move to establish an EU commission against counterfeiting.
“Foreign trade – an Italy-France axis is born,” said Adolfo Urso, Italy’s under-secretary for trade, when meeting Anne Marie Idrac, his French counterpart, on Tuesday.
The two ministers criticised the latest WTO proposals, saying Europe was being asked to make big concessions on agriculture while seeing no progress in industries and services, especially among emerging countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Mexico but particularly China and India.
They said geographical names for products were not adequately protected under the Doha Round proposals, and expressed opposition to the European Commission’s anti-dumping proposals, saying barriers should not be lowered while emerging countries refused to open their markets.
The ministers were speaking at Rome’s Farefuturo, a think-tank backed by Mr Berlusconi’s People of Freedom coalition and linked to the neo-conservative American Enterprise Institute in Washington.
Farefuturo, headed by Mr Urso, held a seminar on “A common policy for development of the Mediterranean”, in which he voiced Italy’s support for the Mediterranean Union. Ms Idrac will host 40 trade ministers from the EU and littoral states to discuss the proposal on July 2, ahead of a summit led by Mr Sarkozy on July 13.
Analysts said that as well as the economic interests, Italy was equally keen to strengthen joint efforts to prevent illegal immigration from North Africa and to combat Islamist extremism.
Muammer Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, has dismissed the French plan as an “insult to us Arabs and Africans”.
Too bad that Americans refuse to see what Socialism is doing to our country.
Unfortunately, we will have to stoop to the level of Italy before that happens, maybe the level of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or Zimbabwi.
yitbos
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