U.S. Wants to Eliminate Tariffs
Oops! Wait! Not so fast!... on manufactured goods...
The key elements of the US proposal, according to industry and congressional officials briefed on the plan, are: A rapid reduction in high tariffs on non-agricultural products, so that by 2010 there would be no tariffs above 8 per cent. All tariffs would then be reduced progressively to zero by 2015. The elimination, no later than 2010, of all duties that are currently below 5 per cent. A parallel initiative calling for faster elimination of tariffs in many industrial sectors such as chemicals, paper, wood and construction equipment.
I'm all for "free trade." I'm open to "fair trade" arguments, but I don't think we need to even bother with them until we we commit to reducing tariffs on agricultural goods and textiles. Until then, we're just rigging the game in a way which benefits narrow interests in our country at the expense of broad interests in theirs.
