Profit and loss

[jbor]

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>From: Michel Ryckx <michel.ryckx at freebel.net>

> 
> I think you're wrong on that one, jbor.

No, there is no such thing as "market ideology".

> 'Free trade' implies contracts;
> a
> contract implies two or more partners, negotiating on an equal basis.
> It is this
> equal basis that does not exist --it is a juridicial fiction.  Take for
> instance
> the price of cocoa or coffee.  This price is set in London.  Nor Côte
> d'Ivoir
> (cocoa) neither Brasil (coffee) are able to influence the price-setting
> of these
> commodities.  They both simply have to accept current prices.  The price
> of cocoa
> has fallen because of a recent EU-regulation that says chocolate may
> contain 5%
> non-cocoa grease.  This has led to a major political crisis in Côte
> d'Ivoir, after
> national income dropped down drastically.

Exactly, and this is due to the approx. 40% tariffs which the EU imposes on
foreign agricultural imports, and which the whole proposed lifting of
protectionist tariffs which the WTO has been discussing is attempting to
overcome. Japan's tariffs are set at about 70%, while the US's are in the
range of 10-15%.

> 'Free Trade' is a myth based on the fiction of equality.

The current problems for primary producing countries like the Ivory Coast
and Brazil are down to the fact that the nations which import their raw
materials have set their tariffs so high that they are forced to set the
price of their products at next to nothing. Free trade is a myth *now*
because of the protectionism which the developed nations have implemented.

The genetically modified foods argument is separate, and so are concerns
about unemployment and environmental issues. See Kofi Annan's speech at the
Seattle Conference which I posted.

best