Kerry and his Navarrean toughness

Sacramento Bee ^ | Sunday, June 6, 2004 | George F. Will

[SunkenCiv]

Kerry's message to Nevadans — essentially, "I feel your hypothetical pain" — testifies to his readiness to do whatever it takes to win. As does his vow last week that, if elected, he would renegotiate the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). He would try to force signatory nations (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and, soon, the Dominican Republic) to adopt labor and environmental standards more pleasing to him... Time was, Kerry was a free trader. Now he favors "fair trade," as defined by his labor allies. But he still is a critic of what he and likeminded people consider the Bush administration's obnoxious tendency to tell other nations how to behave.

The Wall Street Journal reports that "it would be unprecedented for a newly elected president to turn his back on a major trade deal negotiated by his predecessor." Unprecedented and, in Kerry's case, inconsistent. When Kerry and kindred spirits criticize what they consider the Bush administration's hubris and bad diplomatic manners, they often cite its withdrawal from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on climate change. It is understandable that they do not dwell on the fact that the Clinton administration refused to submit it for Senate ratification, or that the Senate voted 95-0 for a resolution against proceeding with the protocol as negotiated. The junior senator from Massachusetts said "no one in their (sic) right mind" would favor it as it is.

[SunkenCiv]

FR search results:

---

WTO rules against U.S. on cotton (What Next your Freedom) ^
			Posted by take On 06/20/2004 5:50:35 PM PDT with 11 comments washingtontimes.com ^ | Jun. 19 2004 | John Zarocostas WTO rules against U.S. on cotton Geneva, Switzerland, Jun. 19 (UPI) -- A World Trade Organization dispute panel on Friday, acting on charges by Brazil, ruled that U.S. cotton subsidies provided to producers, users, and exporters of upland cotton, violate trade rules, trade diplomats said. The ruling, comes at a critical juncture in the troubled Doha global trade talks, bogged down because of differences over agricultural issues, and could have a major impact in galvanizing political support to advance the talks forward, diplomats and trade experts said. The 148 WTO member countries are aiming to try and hammer out a...
Beasley attacks DeMint on trade ^
			Posted by Willie Green On 06/20/2004 9:36:05 AM PDT with 13 comments The State ^ | Sunday, June 20, 2004 | JENNIFER TALHELM David Beasley wants S.C. voters headed to the polls Tuesday to think about the tired eyes of workers like Angie Painter, a 26-year-old new mother from Union County, where the jobless rate is 14 percent. U.S. Rep. Jim DeMint ó Beasley¥s opponent in the Republican U.S. Senate runoff ó has to answer for the shuttered mills and unemployed workers in Union and around the state, the former governor says. DeMint has supported free trade policies in Congress that Beasley says allow cheap foreign clothes, toys and electronics to crowd out American-made goods. Such policies have cost the state 50,000 textile...
Chinese exporters of furniture face tariffs from U.S. ^
			Posted by take On 06/19/2004 8:30:52 PM PDT with 123 comments seattletimes.nwsource.com ^ | 6/19/04 | Mark Drajem Chinese exporters of furniture face tariffs from U.S. WASHINGTON ó The U.S. Commerce Department slapped tariffs of as much as 198 percent on imported bedroom furniture from China, a decision that could cut the $1 billion a year of those imports and may raise prices for consumers. Most of the largest exporters of furniture, representing 80 percent of U.S. imports, will pay tariffs of 24 percent or less, with 82 of the companies paying an 11 percent tariff, according to the Commerce Department. "The duties could have been a whole lot worse," Mike Veitenheimer, a vice president for furniture retailer...
Perk-Heavy Tax Bill for Corporations Gets Nod from House Panel (WTO) ^
			Posted by take On 06/16/2004 6:18:59 AM PDT with 9 comments accountingweb.com ^ | June 16, 2004 | AccountingWEB Perk-Heavy Tax Bill for Corporations Gets Nod from House Panel AccountingWEB.com - June 16, 2004 - The House Ways and Means Committee has approved a bill that would give corporations huge tax benefits while repealing a tax break on exports that was ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization. The European Union has levied harsh tariffs on U.S. goods as a response to the Extraterritorial Income export-tax regime. The House bill attempts to swap the now-illegal export subsidies with new tax breaks for business. The bill would lower the top tax rate for U.S. manufacturers from the current 35 percent...
Powell-Former NC Comm. of Motor Vehicles condemns Sup. Ct ruling allowing Mexican trucks on US hwys. ^
			Posted by ConservativeGramps On 06/09/2004 3:47:18 PM PDT with 2 comments powellforcongress.com ^ Powell for Congress Suite 200 Park West ï4400 Silas Creek Parkwayï Winston-Salem, NC 27104 (336) 768-0035 www.powellforcongress.com e-mail - ed@powellforcongress.com For Immediate Release June 9, 2004 Contact: Ed Powell (336) 768-0035 (O), (336) 722-9909 (H), or (336) 655-6269(Cell) Former North Carolina Commissioner of Motor Vehicles Edward L. Powell, Republican candidate for the Fifth Congressional District, today strongly condemned the recent Supreme Court decision that allows Mexican trucks to use the highways of the United States. Powell said, ìThis is another direct result of the disastrous North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has already virtually destroyed our textile and furniture...
Some PA Legislators AGAINST the (FTAA) Free Trade of the Americas, Introduces Resolution to Congress ^
			Posted by Coleus On 06/07/2004 10:19:51 PM PDT with 14 comments 2004 THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE RESOLUTION No. 703 Session of 2004 † INTRODUCED BY CLYMER, ARGALL, ARMSTRONG, BELFANTI, CORRIGAN, CRAHALLA, DALEY, DeLUCA, DiGIROLAMO, FABRIZIO, GEORGE, GODSHALL, GOOD, HARRIS, HERSHEY, HESS, JAMES, KELLER, KOTIK, LEH, LEVDANSKY, MARSICO, McGEEHAN, McILHATTAN, MUNDY, MUSTIO, PALLONE, PISTELLA, READSHAW, ROHRER, SCAVELLO, SOLOBAY, STERN, E. Z. TAYLOR, WILT, WOJNAROSKI, FREEMAN AND BASTIAN, APRIL 15, 2004 REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, APRIL 15, 2004 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1 Urging the Congress of the United States to place a moratorium 2 on new free trade agreements, to investigate and review 3 current free trade agreements and policies of...
State losing asparagus war to Peru plants  ^
			Posted by Willie Green On 06/04/2004 11:13:17 AM PDT with 90 comments The Seattle Times ^ | Friday, June 04, 2004 | Alwyn Scott Washington's last and largest asparagus cannery will close next year as the work moves to cheaper plants in Peru. The 70-year-old cannery, billed as the world's largest, employs 1,000 workers during summer months and about 50 year-round, said Seneca Foods, owner of the plant in Dayton, Columbia County. Its carrot-canning line also will close next year. Known for its 300-foot statue of the Jolly Green Giant, the plant opened in 1934 and has been a mainstay of the economy in Dayton, which had an estimated 2002 population of 2,715. "This is a huge hit," said Jennie Dickinson, executive director of...
Even in recovery, factories are closing  ^
			Posted by Willie Green On 06/01/2004 6:22:53 PM PDT with 98 comments The Chicago Tribune ^ | June 1, 2004 | Greg Burns The exit of Rubbermaid Inc. from Wooster, Ohio, underscores the phenomenon of plants shutting down even as the U.S. economy is growing again WOOSTER, Ohio -- Rubbermaid Inc. was very good to the folks here in the rolling hills of rural Ohio, providing cradle-to-grave security for generations of faithful employees. Now the company's flagship factory is shutting down, eliminating hundreds of good-paying jobs, as the Rust Belt demons that have beset so many Midwest communities descend on this sheltered hamlet. America's economy is growing again after the worst period of manufacturing job losses in memory. But plant closings are rolling...
CAFTA: Another Over-sold Free Trade Scam  ^
			Posted by Willie Green On 06/01/2004 12:34:21 PM PDT with 34 comments AmericanEconomicAlert.org ^ | Tuesday, June 01, 2004 | Alan Tonelson For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.CAFTA ñ A New Low for U.S. Trade Policy By Alan Tonelson May 30, 2004 Talk about great timing. On May 13, U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick announced that a free trade agreement between the United States and five Central American countries would shortly be signed in Washington. The CAFTA agreement, Zoellick predicted, "will promote U.S. exports to a large and important marketÖ." Exactly three days after Zoellick's announcement, voters in the Dominican Republic, scheduled to be added onto CAFTA, threw their president out of office because the national economy had...
U.S., Central American Countries Sign Trade Agreement ^
			Posted by Pikamax On 05/30/2004 9:15:17 AM PDT with 4 comments Bloomberg ^ | 05/30/04 | Bloomberg U.S., Central American Countries Sign Trade Agreement (Update1) May 28 (Bloomberg) -- Trade officials from the U.S. and five Central American nations signed an agreement to cut tariffs and set rules for investment, a deal the Bush administration says will spur democracy and economic growth in the region. The Central American Free Trade Agreement, or Cafta, is opposed by Democrats including presidential candidate John Kerry who blame Bush for not securing pledges to strengthen the rights of workers in those poor nations. The officials from the five nations -- Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua -- rejected that...
Free trade deal signed; now it's up to Congress ^
			Posted by Dog Gone On 05/29/2004 10:43:43 AM PDT with 67 comments Reuters ^ | May 30, 2004 WASHINGTON ó The United States and five Central American countries signed a free trade agreement Friday ó subject to approval by the U.S. Congress.The U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, would extend the North American Free Trade Agreement down most of the land bridge connecting Mexico to South America.At a signing ceremony with ministers from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said approving CAFTA and a companion pact with the Dominican Republic would offer "new hope for easing poverty, fostering development and strengthening democracy" in a region racked by war and civil...
CAFTA signing puts sugar back into La. politics ^
			Posted by sarcasm On 05/29/2004 4:16:19 AM PDT with 15 comments AP ^ | May 28, 2004 BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) ó Sugar imports re-entered Louisiana politics this week as President Bush signed a Central American trade agreement Friday bitterly opposed by local cane farmers, and politicians of all stripes have competed to denounce it. The agreement calls for small increases of imported sugar, anathema to the heavily protected domestic sugar market, a potent political issue for Louisiana Democrats and a potential problem for Republicans. The sugar provision is a subsidiary aspect of the deal but it looms large in Louisiana where the industry employs some 27,000.Friday Charlie Melancon, a Democrat and fund-raising leader in the race...
Kerry opposes new trade pact  ^
			Posted by kattracks On 05/29/2004 12:25:45 AM PDT with 5 comments Washington Times ^ | 5/29/04 | Stephen Dinan Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said yesterday he will oppose the Central American Free Trade Agreement, marking the first time he will have voted against a free-trade agreement after 20 years of supporting them in Congress. ††††The Massachusetts senator said the new agreement, which the United States and five Central American nations signed yesterday, does not have enough rules to protect the environment or workers' rights in the other nations. ††††"As now constructed, CAFTA would actually make the current situation worse because it would take away a strong tool to help address violations of core labor standards that is now...
Brazil, China weigh nuclear trade deal (Free Trade) ^
			Posted by take On 05/26/2004 10:11:53 PM PDT with 11 comments Knight Ridder Newspapers ^ | Wed, May. 26, 2004 | KEVIN G. HALL Brazil, China weigh nuclear trade deal RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - One day after announcing that Brazil was negotiating the export of uranium and nuclear technologies to China, the Brazilian government Wednesday tried to calm fears raised by the potential accord. "Brazil has not made any decision," Eduardo Campos, Brazil's science and technology minister, told the state news agency Agencia Brasil on Wednesday during a state visit to China. In a news release later Wednesday, Campos tried to distance Brazil from declarations a day earlier that Brazil and China would negotiate the sale of non-processed uranium to supply 11 new...
Roguesí Gallery: False Opposition  ^
			Posted by Tailgunner Joe On 05/19/2004 7:25:58 PM PDT with 2 comments Stop the FTAA ^ | William F. Jasper This is the second installment in a series of articles looking at the forces behind the scenes propelling us toward globalization through NAFTA, the FTAA and the WTO.ëëThe Battle of Seattle." That is the common name given to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial conference of November 30-December 3, 1999, where a 1960s-style generation of political street rioting was born anew. Images of tear gas, burning cars, chanting mobs, baton-wielding riot police, frightened diplomats, and millions of dollars in damage were left indelibly on the minds of those who viewed the footage on the nightly news. What started as...
CAFTA: Stepping Stone to the FTAA ^
			Posted by Tailgunner Joe On 05/09/2004 2:33:19 PM PDT with 31 comments New American ^ | May 17, 2004 On February 20, President Bush officially notified Congress that he intends to sign the recently negotiated Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). That letter of notification started the clock ticking on the presidentís so-called fast track trade negotiating authority, which Congress reauthorized in 2002. Under the fast track rules, the president must give Congress a 90-day notice before signing any trade agreement. That means President Bush could sign CAFTA as early as late May, although he could decide to sign at a later date. Once the president signs the agreement and then formally sends it to Congress, the legislators are...
NAFTA blamed for rural US unemployment  ^
			Posted by Willie Green On 04/23/2004 1:10:24 PM PDT with 5 comments BusinessDay ^ | Friday 23 April 2004 | AFP For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. WASHINGTON - Rural workers from a small community in the southern US state of North Carolina say their county has been devastated by unemployment, blaming NAFTA and other free trade accords for their plight. Displaced workers from Robeson County, North Carolina, have taken their grievances to Washington where they are seeking financial help from Congress, as President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry trade blows over the economy ahead of November's presidential election. "There are two Americas that are being shaped as a result of the job loss ... there...
No Troops, No CAFTA  ^
			Posted by Willie Green On 04/22/2004 2:45:17 PM PDT with 33 comments AmericanEconomicAlert.org ^ | Thursday, April 22, 2004 | William R. Hawkins For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. The United States has formed a new Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Trade is supposed to bring countries together, but this week Honduras and the Dominican Republic announced they were pulling their small troop contingents out of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. Their governments decided they would rather follow the example of the new Socialist regime in Spain than stay true to the commitments they made to their largest trading partner, the United States, which had just granted...
THE UNFOLDING FTAA BATTLE ^
			Posted by JesseHousman On 04/20/2004 1:13:52 PM PDT with 1 comment New American ^ | May 3, 2004 Edition | William F. Jasper Understanding the dynamics involved in previous congressional votes on NAFTA and other so-called trade pacts is key to stopping the dangerous erosion of our sovereignty. In December 1994, President Bill Clinton hosted the Summit of the Americas in Miami. Together with the leaders of the nations of North and South America and the Caribbean, he committed to completing an agreement for a Western Hemispheric trade bloc by January 2005. At the Quebec Summit of the Americas in April 2001, our newly elected President George W. Bush pledged his support for the same plan. Like Clinton, President Bush signed on to...
Help Stop the U.S.A.F.T.A.! ^
			Posted by MARenzulli On 04/15/2004 7:15:00 PM PDT with 8 comments United States Trade Representative ^ | 04/15/2004 | Mike Renzulli Help Stop the United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement! Not only is Congress going to consider a trade agreement for Central America in the late spring or early summer but at the same time it is going to debate and vote on a trade agreement between the United States and Australia. While the treaty has many desirable features to it, such as granting all U.S. agricultural exports to Australia (such as fruits and vegetables, dried onions, fruit and vegetable juices) immediate duty-free access, it still exempts many dairy industry products by keeping much of the U.S. quotas on dairy imports intact...

---

George W. Bush will be reelected by a margin of at least ten per cent

[SunkenCiv]

Just bumpin'.

[sgtbono2002]

Kerry is a lying sack of crap, talking trash to try to get votes. He isnt going to change any rules.Only a fool would believe he will.