SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
The Trump administration has crafted a draft bill — ordered by the president — that would declare America's abandonment of World Trade Organization rules, according to Axios. The bill essentially provides President Donald Trump — who has argued for a better position for the U.S. in big trade pacts — a license to raise U.S. tariffs at will, without congressional consent and largely outside of the international rules governed by the WTO. The bill, titled the "United States Fair and Reciprocal Tariff Act," would give Trump unilateral power to ignore the two most basic principles of the WTO and negotiate one-on-one with any country.
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
'FART' Bill Indicates Trump's Intention to Dump WTO
|
Log In/Create an Account
| Top
| 154 comments
| Search Discussion
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
1
(2)
1
(2)
The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n.
-- John Milton
(Score: 3, Informative) by realDonaldTrump on Tuesday July 03 2018, @10:00AM (5 children)
Can you imagine, what if Crooked Hillary had won? Believe me, she wouldn't be taking us out of the World Trade Organization. And she wouldn't be renegotiating. Because she's a HUGE GLOBALIST, she owes so much to the Global Special Interests. But if she did -- if somehow she did -- our alt-left would be dancing in the streets. They're not dancing now. Because they voted for a huge globalist. But does anyone remember the Battle in Seattle? If you're not too young maybe you remember that one. Big fight, I'll tell you, it wasn't a WWE fight. It was our alt-left going up against the WTO. And against the city, they did so much damage to the city. Very destructive. President Clinton -- Bill Clinton -- sent in the National Guard. And kept us in the WTO.
You know, our alt-left was right. These trade deals are a disaster. The World Trade Organization is a disaster. It was set up for the benefit of everybody but us. They have taken advantage of this country like you wouldn’t believe. We lose the lawsuits, almost all of the lawsuits in the WTO. We're going to renegotiate or we're going to pull out. As I promised. Trust me, when I say I'll pull out I pull out. Always, always. 100%. No more will the WTO screw the United States!!!!
(Score: 2) by suburbanitemediocrity on Tuesday July 03 2018, @01:09PM (1 child)
I remember the Battle of Seattle well. He is making it OK for the next person to do the things that need to be done, but couldn't before.
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 03 2018, @02:35PM
I remember the scornful coverage by the main stream media. Though now they would characterize the protestors as the lamentable victims of Trump's fascist regime.
(Score: 3, Informative) by meustrus on Tuesday July 03 2018, @02:14PM (2 children)
Another perfect post from the realDonaldTrump, everybody!
Ha!
Haha!
Hahaha!
You'd think this was the dictator of some banana republic talking about how the WTO screwed their economy for the benefit of American companies. Maybe Trump thinks this is Ecuador or something. It would sure explain a lot.
If only.
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
(Score: 2) by suburbanitemediocrity on Tuesday July 03 2018, @03:06PM (1 child)
Look at how he got these people (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyCuDGVRFcg [youtube.com]) defending the wto. He is a genius.
(Boobs at 2:53)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 03 2018, @06:07PM
No, they are just morons and Trump is a master moron.
(Score: 0, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 03 2018, @10:59AM (5 children)
The bill is USFARTA. You can argue to pronounce it as US-FART-A, but claiming it's FART is simply more Trump bashing. Sure, he's a bad president, but the constant media bullshitting makes all the non-trump supporters look like whining, immature kids throwing a temper tantrum. There are plenty of things to complain about, so stop making things up in an attempt to make the people you dislike look bad. It just makes you look worse and hurts whatever you're trying to say. Having Trump as president makes it clear the news isn't news, it's entertainment to go after whomever they don't like and entertainment to prop up anyone they do like. There aren't even attempts at non-bias reporting anymore.
(Score: 3, Funny) by c0lo on Tuesday July 03 2018, @12:00PM
Boo-bloody-hoo... Leave Britney alooone... [youtu.be]... Sorry, that was the first thing that popped into my mind while reading the above.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 03 2018, @01:38PM
US-FART-A is the Canadian pronunciation?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday July 03 2018, @03:16PM
It's a fart joke. It was going to be made no matter who proposed the bill. Untwist your drawers.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 3, Funny) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday July 03 2018, @04:02PM
The bill is USFARTA. You can argue to pronounce it as US-FART-A, but claiming it's FART is simply more Trump bashing.
Yes, it's a secret anti-Trump plot to use our Democrat (solar-powered) time machine do go back in time and secretly change the name of the USAPARTIOTA to the USA PATRIOT Act.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 03 2018, @07:26PM
I wanted to hop on the mocking train but everyone before me did such a great job!
I'd just like to add that there are plenty of attempts at non-bias reporting, just almost never from the big networks.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by noneof_theabove on Tuesday July 03 2018, @11:44AM (4 children)
1938 in 3...2...1
BOOM!
Bow to the Supreme Leader of the US Kind Donald the 1st.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 03 2018, @12:42PM (3 children)
I woild love it if he ruled for next 100 years. But alas he is too good a guy. Maybe he will lay a foundation for a new, less corrupt party than the two we have. US political system has really soured me on democracy. Cyclical but nothing changes in the end. Though German style Democracy is probably worse, and shit you have on Sweden and UK is just pure shit. Give me a Putin like in Russia to make sure your country remains a country and isnt fucked sideways by multikulti boogeymen.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by maxwell demon on Tuesday July 03 2018, @02:23PM
I just hope that was satire …
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday July 03 2018, @03:27PM
You forgot the song: One Like Putin [youtube.com]
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 03 2018, @09:27PM
Question: how much is Russia paying you to post this crap? Just curious.
(Score: 4, Informative) by nobu_the_bard on Tuesday July 03 2018, @12:17PM (1 child)
There's been a lot of stories about the WTO lately. This is not all the US is doing.
* Currently the US is vetoing all judicial appointments until the WTO agrees to always decide cases as directed by the US. This is a Trump administration policy. The WTO is undermanned right now because of unfilled positions. Example source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-wto/diplomats-search-for-way-to-save-trade-system-after-u-s-vetoes-judges-idUSKBN1DR2PR [reuters.com]
* The US recently said it will be canceling all proceedings that exceed the 90 day time limits for rulings in disputes being worked on. Strictly speaking it has authority to do this but nearly everything that goes through the WTO is behind schedule because the scale it operates at is so huge and complicated. Things were just being allowed to proceed anyway and the 90 day time limit had become something of a relic. Did I mention the WTO is also undermanned and now the workload pace is increasing as a result of all this? Example source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-wto/u-s-unveils-new-veto-threat-against-wto-rulings-idUSKBN1JI22J [reuters.com]
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Tuesday July 03 2018, @06:28PM
But there's still the question of whether it would work better if the US pulled out.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 03 2018, @01:34PM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Seattle_WTO_protests#/media/File:WTO_protestors,_1999_(20680767813).jpg [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 1, Redundant) by suburbanitemediocrity on Tuesday July 03 2018, @01:36PM
https://ethleteco.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/wto-protest.jpg [wordpress.com]
(Score: 0, Informative) by crafoo on Tuesday July 03 2018, @01:42PM (5 children)
Fantastic! The faster we get out of the WTO the better.
Next, the UN. Another abomination and unchecked force for evil in the world.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 03 2018, @04:20PM (1 child)
The USA was one of the creators of the UN, and has veto power in the Security Council (the only part of the UN that can issue binding directives). The General Assembly votes on and issues assorted resolutions, but member nations are not required to do anything about them.
(Score: 3, Touché) by bob_super on Tuesday July 03 2018, @06:28PM
Exactly!
Without the UN, where will other countries formally get told that yes, their protest has been heard, but Israel will get away with it, so shut up!
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 03 2018, @04:26PM (2 children)
Fantastic! The faster we get out of the WTO the better.
Next, the UN. Another abomination and unchecked force for evil in the world.
Whoever marked this insightful (and frankly, whoever wrote it if they weren't being sarcastic) seriously needs to reconnect with reality. These institutions are what drove our prosperity and solidified our dominant position in the world. Deconstruct them, and you're essentially deconstructing America's position as economic and military leader in the world. This ins't making America "Great" again, it's destroying America's position as a world leader and relegating us to second or third tier status, a position we are unlikely to ever emerge from again. Which means less capital investment, less jobs, a smaller economy, less influence on the world, and subservience to Russia, China, and a host of other upwardly-mobile nations. America Tanks, Putin rises, and Donnie Trump plays big fish in a shrinking, fetid pond. Welcome to Trump's USA.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 03 2018, @07:37PM (1 child)
American dominance gave us Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, a global drug war, etc. Maybe it will be better for everyone if we just wind this America machine down.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday July 04 2018, @02:59AM
It also gave us pizza. And cold beer in the summer. I win.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Sulla on Tuesday July 03 2018, @05:07PM
Either we should all have no tariffs or boundaries to trade with eachother, or we should all be allowed to impose tariffs and boundaries as we see fit. As long as Europe sees fit to tariff us then we have no reason not to tariff them, and any organization (regardless of if we set it up or not) that tries to punish us for giving as we are getting is not something we should be a part of.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 03 2018, @07:51PM
Can't believe no on got this. When Clancy's Jack Ryan books had a Japanese pilot wipe out most of the government and Jack Ryan became president, he instituted a reciprocal trade/tariff policy to make things more fair. I guess Trump is a Clancy fan.