U.S. Is Accused of Violating Pact in Iraq Bid Policy (LA SLIMES ALERT)

LA Times ^ | 12/16/2003 | Evelyn Iritani

[BurbankKarl]

(note: the author of the piece was a fellow at the institute that sponsored Coward Dean's hate-America fest yesterday in Century City)

Incensed that foreign countries were playing favorites in doling out billions of dollars to build airports, roads and dams, the U.S. became a prime cheerleader for a global agreement on government procurement.

Now, the U.S. stands accused of violating the very pact it worked so hard to create.

The Pentagon said last week that companies from France, Canada and other countries that didn't contribute militarily to the Iraq war would be barred from bidding on $18.6 billion in U.S.-funded reconstruction contracts. That sent officials from excluded countries to their lawbooks, looking for ways to strike back.

The European Commission, which called the Iraq bid decision "ill-thought-out," is considering filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization in Geneva. Under the WTO procurement pact for which the U.S. heavily lobbied, governments in most cases must open their purchasing processes to international competition and treat domestic and foreign firms equally.

Considering that, "I don't think the U.S. position is sustainable," Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson said. -snip-

[polemikos]

Anti-Bush/pro-Saddam governments have a conflict of interest.
They should NOT be allowed to participate in Iraqi contracts.

[the Real fifi]

If that connection is true, write to the LAT editors and to Instapundit about the conflict. No use telling FR readers, we understand.

[Southack]

"Under the WTO procurement pact for which the U.S. heavily lobbied, governments in most cases..."

Stop right there, LA Times.

Iraq never signed the WTO. The WTO agreement doesn't apply inside Iraq's soveriegn territory.

Too bad, thanks for playing, though!

[diamondjoe]

It's funny that those who accuse the US of acting "unilaterally" turn around and ask as though we are somehow party to agreements that would apply only if we had acted multilaterally. Which is it?

[goldstategop]

Yeah really. They're free-loaders who want to get in on the Iraq reconstruction business. Its funny how they whine upon being exclded from Iraq contracts after not taking part in the war with us. We and the Iraqis need such fair weather allies like we need enemies.

[rudypoot]

"I don't think the U.S. position is sustainable," Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson said.

The opposition to the war has said this from the word 'go'. The bottomline on the opposition of the axis of weasels is that they trusted a tyrant before a republican president and got burned. Suckers.