Free Republic

<p>March 7, 2002 -- Proving himself less principled than Bill Clinton regarding the free-trade principles that are indispensable to world prosperity and comity, President Bush has done what Clinton refused to do.</p> <p>In the name of providing "breathing space" for the U.S. steel industry, on the respirator of protection for decades, Bush has cooked up an unpalatable confection of tariffs and import quotas that mock his free-trade rhetoric.</p>

Take no notice of the EU's crocodile tears over Mr Bush's steel tariffs 'Protection is sometimes necessary to prevent unfair advantage from imports subsidised by EU grants' Michael Brown 08 March 2002 The European Union has been spoiling for a trade fight with the United States for years. The opprobrium that has fallen on the head of President Bush is vicious and unjustified. If the EU were itself an open and enlightened free trade organisation and came to the steel dispute with clean hands it might be entitled to be listened to with respect. But the sickening response to the ...

&#187; Advertise With Us &#187; More From The Grand Rapids Press Business News Steel users brace themselves for higher pricesThursday, March 07, 2002By Barbara WielandThe Grand Rapids Press Steelcase Inc. chose its name for a reason. The country's largest furniture manufacturer goes through more than 200,000 tons of steel a year, said Brian Van Dommelen, leader of corporate steel services for the Grand Rapids-based company. Steel is the single largest commodity the company buys. So it is no wonder that Steelcase has turned a wary eye toward the tariffs President George Bush recently slapped on imported steel. The tariffs, ...

<p>AMERICA'S War on Terror has employed "Daisy Cutter" bombs, missile-equipped surveillance drones and forensic accountants who have dammed al Qaeda's illicit cash flows. Free trade should be another arrow in America's anti-terrorist quiver. Countries that aid this new war, especially those in the Middle East, should gain duty-free access to American markets.</p>

President Bush's decision to impose substantial tariffs on a wide range of steel imports is disappointing and troubling. Under heavy pressure from domestic steel producers and steelworkers' unions, President Bush ordered tariffs ranging from 8 percent to 30 percent on foreign steel. In seeking to justify his action, he curiously invoked the language of free trade, saying, "We're a free-trade nation, and in order to remain a free-trading nation, we must enforce the law. That's exactly what I did." Honestly, I don't understand anything about that statement, since there was nothing "free-trade" about it, nor is there any law ...

In slamming 30 percent tariffs on imported steel, President Bush did more than keep his word to U.S. steelworkers. He sent a Reaganite message to the world: "I'm a free trader, but I put America first." Just as Ronald Reagan imposed quotas on steel being dumped in the United States in the 1980s, Bush has decided that U.S. national interests and America's steel industry will not be the next sacrificial lambs thrown up on the altar of the Global Economy. Though threatened with a trade war, the president did not buckle or back down. Good for him. Economic patriotism ...

To many people, the thought of a global tax sends goose bumps down the spine. In mid-March the United Nations – in conjunction with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization – will host a global conference entitled, "Financing For Development" in Monterrey, Mexico. For the past seven years, the United Nations has been raising the idea of a global tax on an unofficial basis at numerous global conferences. My knowledge of a global tax goes back to 1994 when I covered my first United Nations meeting in Cairo. I went there for a ...

PARIS - Just as the transatlantic flap over President Bush's "axis of evil" speech was calming down, the US leader has sparked a new row with his European allies by imposing tariffs and quotas on steel imports that threaten a trade war and fresh tensions within the international coalition fighting terrorism. Three French ministers Thursday branded the steel tariff decision "illegitimate and inappropriate." As German Chancellor Gerhard Schr&#246;der joined a chorus of European protest, pressure mounted for retaliatory sanctions against US exports. European leaders find themselves once again decrying what they see as the US administration's tendency to follow ...

TownHall.com: Conservative Columnists: Jacob SullumQUICK LINKS: HOME | NEWS | OPINION | RIGHTPAGES | CHAT | WHAT'S NEWtownhall.comJacob Sullum (back to story)March 8, 2002Trading positions Despite its contributions to George W. Bush's campaigns, Enron went bankrupt, its desperate pleas for government intervention unheeded. The Democrats nevertheless have turned Enron into a symbol of the GOP's cozy relationship with corporate fat cats and Exhibit A of the case for campaign finance regulation. So you would expect that if President Bush actually decided to bail out some big companies and stick taxpayers with the bill, the Democrats would be quick to ...

TownHall.com: Conservative Columnists: Bruce BartlettQUICK LINKS: HOME | NEWS | OPINION | RIGHTPAGES | CHAT | WHAT'S NEWtownhall.comBruce Bartlett (back to story)March 8, 2002Steel tariffs are a mistake I believe that George W. Bush has made the greatest mistake of his presidency by imposing additional tariffs on steel imports for the next three years. It may not be quite as foolish as his father's 1990 tax increase, but it is in the same neighborhood. I believe he has put himself on a slippery slope that has nowhere to go except down. The White House spin seems to be that ...

Japan's economy sinks deeper into recession Japan's hobbled economy is sinking deeper into recession. It shrank 1.2% during the three months ending in December, the third consecutive quarter of contraction. Japan slid into its third recession in a decade last quarter - sinking 0.5% or an annual rate of 2.1%. Recession is generally defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction. The contraction for the latest quarter translates to an annual 4.5% contraction. It also marks the first time the Japanese economy has contracted for three consecutive quarters since 1993, according to Cabinet official Katsuki Oda. A 12% drop in ...

Unless you earn your living as an intellectual property lawyer, you probably don't know that the Supreme Court has granted certiorari in Eldred v. Ashcroft , a case that will test the limits of Congress's power to extend the term of copyrights. But while copyright may not seem inherently compelling to non-specialists, the issues at stake in Eldred are vitally important to anyone who watches movies, listens to music, or reads books. If that includes you, read on. Mickey Mouse Goes to Washington Back in 1998, representatives of the Walt Disney Company came to Washington looking for help. Disney's copyright ...

An EU rush to retaliate would compound the damage A mere two months ago George W. Bush chided Americans seeking to “shut down trade” for lacking confidence in American workers, entrepreneurs and products. Now, in a political gesture to the US steel lobby and to swing voters in politically sensitive rust-belt states, the President has delivered his own vote of no confidence. This short-sighted act recalls his father’s fateful decision to raise taxes, having promised the opposite and invited voters to “read my lips”. The punishing import tariffs he has authorised will not save the US steel industry, where ...

<p>WASHINGTON — Major appliances such as a refrigerator or a washer-dryer pair could cost $3 to $5 more as a result of tariffs President Bush is imposing on steel products this month.</p> <p>Steelworkers say that is a small price to save American jobs and an industry that once was the backbone of U.S. commerce.</p>

Whenever anyone talks about "fairness," the average American had better look to his wallet. When social pressure groups invoke "fairness," it means that American business must be saddled with quotas for mandatory hiring or promoting of myriad special interest groups, depending on who can get themselves organized and win the ear of the politicians. When businessmen talk of "fair trade" or "fair competition," it means that they are pressuring the government to use coercion to cartelize their industry, to restrict production, raise prices, and allow the flourishing of inefficient and uncompetitive practices. In business, the other guy, your competitor, ...

WASHINGTON - By imposing tariffs on many steel imports, the Bush administration is straining relations with key allies at a time when the US needs all the friends it can get to help fight the war on terrorism. Although officials tried to soften the blow on sensitive allies like Russia, the wide-ranging steel decision could well spark furious international retaliation. Steel is a touchstone industry in many nations, and change in steel prices ripples quickly into many other sectors of the developed world's consumer economy. If nothing else, the move puts the longstanding US push for a more open ...

U.S. Users of Steel Worry That Tariffs Will Be Costly By CLAUDIA H. DEUTSCH ary Hill, the president of National Metalwares, cannot yet quantify the effect steel tariffs will have on his business. But he assumes it will not be small, and it will not be good. National Metalwares, at about $30 million in revenue, is small, but Mr. Hill said it had traditionally commanded a solid share of the market for tubular steel components used in school furniture and engine-powered lawn products like mowers or weed trimmers. But steel represents some 46 percent of the cost of making ...

The attacks of September 11 pretty much reduced the “blame-America-first gang“ to a remnant consisting of decadent members of the Hollywood Left and radical professors still in awe of Ho Chi Minh. There is, however, one exception -- where free traders still feel free to denounce Americans and their government: trade protection. On the eve of President George W. Bush’s decision on what actions to take to defend the American steel industry from foreign assault, the editorial pages of the Big 3 free trade newspapers; the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, all repeated the arguments and ...

U.S. faces world steel war over tariffs Thursday, March 7, 2002 at 09:00 JST WASHINGTON — The world's major steel producers went on a war footing on Wednesday over a U.S. decision to curb steel imports even as Washington sought to calm their fears. The clash erupted after Tuesday's decision by President George W Bush, facing pressure from the struggling steel industry in a congressional election year, to slap tariffs of up to 30% on a range of steel imports. World steel producers, accusing the United Sates of propping up failing steel firms, vowed retaliation and on Wednesday the European ...

Korea will seek to establish a multilateral panel to fight the safeguard on steel imports announced formally by the Bush administration Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said yesterday. In meeting with the press, Minister for Trade Hwang Doo-yon said the government will also make swift preparations to take the case to the World Trade Organization (WTO). ``It is regrettable that the United States has decided to trigger the safeguard mechanism on imported steel as a means of protecting its own steel companies,'' he said. The Bush administration announced its decision Tuesday that safeguard tariffs of 8-30 percent ...