US Signs Trade Deal with ASEAN States

The Bush administration continues with its neo-con foreign policy except in economics, where it is clearly neo-liberal. Free trade is a sacred mantra with this crowd, so it is not surprising that the White House has worked out a new free trade arrangement with the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations [ASEAN]. Apparently, the Busheviks aren’t content to see the US trade deficit at record levels; they believe that records are meant to be broken.

US Trade Representative Susan Schwab signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement [TIFA] in Malaysia saying, “The can-do spirit of the members of ASEAN reflects the can-do spirit we are so proud of in the United States. The TIFA with ASEAN represents an important step forward in the trade relationship with the region.” ASEAN members are: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar [Burma], the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Given the list, just what is the US going to send them apart from capital? Oh, yes, weapons.

The trade between ASEAN as a bloc and the US was $150 billion last year. The US picked up more than $32 billion in debt as a result. Meanwhile, the US pumped $8.7 billion into the ASEAN bloc as direct foreign investment. US-owned capital will do all right out of the arrangement, but US labor and the US economy as a whole appear to have the short end of the stick again.

A TIFA is not a comprehensive free trade agreement. It merely tries to lower non-tariff barriers to trade and investment, things like licensing and local content rules. In trade negotiations, it’s the first step on the way to a comprehensive agreement. At the same time, one should note that the US already has a full blown free trade deal with Singapore and is in round three of such negotiations with Malaysia. Washington is also talking to Thailand about a free trade agreement.

In the end, free trade is in everybody’s best interests, but the path one takes to establish that can make all the difference. US policy under the neo-libs has been one of unilateral disarmament. So long as capital can move freely to places where it can earn a few extra percentage points, Washington seems happy enough to make any deal. On the same day Ms. Schwab signed the agreement, Ford has announced talks to sell off its luxury brands as part of an attempt to halt the huge losses it has suffered in recent years. Mr. Bush and his advisors were silent about this “coincidence.”

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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