Sunday, September 14, 2003
YOU MEAN STATIST THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES ARE BAD TRADING PARTNERS ???
Say it ain't so ! The Progressive Policy Institute points out that, quite hypocritically, many of the sanctimonious Third World kleptocrats who complain bitterly about the West's trading practices are all that and more to each other. Case in point:
Bangladesh exports to United States, 2002: $1.90 billion
Bangladesh exports to India, 2002: $0.06 billion
PPI goes on further to say:
"India's case may be the most remarkable of all. Its Trade Minister Murasoli Maran noted when the Doha talks began in 2001 that "tariff peaks and tariff escalation continue to affect many developing country exports." He should know -- India itself has in essence one trade system for most of the world, and a second (far harsher) for its poorer neighbors. Cotton skirts are an example, carrying tariffs of "30 percent or Rs. 110/ - per piece, whichever is higher." 110 rupees are the equivalent of about $2.30 -- so in practice, a designer firm in Milan selling a $500 skirt gets a 30 percent tax, and small factories in Bangladesh making $1 skirts for their natural market in Calcutta get one of 100 percent or 200 percent
Remember to mention this at the next bash the West for the Rest type protest outside the WTO or World Bank.
¶ 10:50 AM
Say it ain't so ! The Progressive Policy Institute points out that, quite hypocritically, many of the sanctimonious Third World kleptocrats who complain bitterly about the West's trading practices are all that and more to each other. Case in point:
Bangladesh exports to United States, 2002: $1.90 billion
Bangladesh exports to India, 2002: $0.06 billion
PPI goes on further to say:
"India's case may be the most remarkable of all. Its Trade Minister Murasoli Maran noted when the Doha talks began in 2001 that "tariff peaks and tariff escalation continue to affect many developing country exports." He should know -- India itself has in essence one trade system for most of the world, and a second (far harsher) for its poorer neighbors. Cotton skirts are an example, carrying tariffs of "30 percent or Rs. 110/ - per piece, whichever is higher." 110 rupees are the equivalent of about $2.30 -- so in practice, a designer firm in Milan selling a $500 skirt gets a 30 percent tax, and small factories in Bangladesh making $1 skirts for their natural market in Calcutta get one of 100 percent or 200 percent
Remember to mention this at the next bash the West for the Rest type protest outside the WTO or World Bank.
¶ 10:50 AM
