Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Crazy North America

Recently the NAFTA (North America Free Trade Agreement) was in the news again. I can’t help laughing about the whole issue.

I have dual citizenship and travel frequently. The reality is that many American citizens have no idea that there is an issue. Apparently, it just isn’t news worthy.

Obviously, protectionist lobby groups don’t want to see products hitting the US market cheaper than they can produce them. The net effect? For every dollar that is taxed against products coming into their country means that the people of the United States pay a higher than necessary price for the goods they use every day. These include lumber, poultry and beef, just to name a few.

Right now the most bazaar situation is happening. Over and over again, each appeal made by the US, which essentially claims that Canada is dumping cheap products unfairly onto the US market, has been overturned. The latest development is that the US government has supported NAFTA, the very agreement they entered into in the first place. Now the cattle industry in the US is suing the US government for infringing on their constitutional rights. Unbelievable!

Of course the Canadian government would love to see this dispute, which has plagued NAFTA since its inception, concluded in their country’s favour. To top the story off, the Canadian government is now supporting the US government in this strange lawsuit of the US government vs their own cattle industry.

Outrageous!