Let them export jet engines

So much for free trade. After years of pressuring developing countries to open up their markets, America (and other developing nations, i'm sure,) are nevertheless protecting their home markets poor countries who desperately need the business.

But the coup de grace was delivered by the world's richest country, the United States, which once again decided to demonstrate its hypocrisy. The United States ostensibly agreed to a 97 percent opening of its markets to the poorest countries. ...
America's intention was ... to seem to be opening up its markets, while doing nothing of the sort, for it appears to allow the United States to select a different 3 percent for each country. The result is what is mockingly coming to be called the EBP initiative: developing countries will be allowed freely to export everything but what they produce. They can export jet engines, supercomputers, airplanes, computer chips of all kinds - just not textiles, agricultural products, or processed foods, the goods they can and do produce. ...

The official argument for the 3 percent exclusion is that it affects "sensitive products." In other words, while the United States lectures developing countries on the need to face the pain of rapid adjustment to liberalization, it refuses to do the same. (Indeed, it has already had more than 11 years to adjust to liberalization of textiles.)

who do they think they're trying to fool with this stuff?

(via economist's view)