Sweeney on trade

[Rakesh Bhandari]

Doug, I am clearly arguing that the AFL CIO does nothing to prevent the
onset of crisis; once 'on', a country may indeed have to export like mad.
All we have is support for a Tobin Tax (and we know that Greenspan will
rage against any regulations which circumscribe US finance industry's
control of speculative capital) which doesn't compensate for retrograde
silence, if not tacit support, of imperialist economic policy. Once a
country is stricken, it will need exports if it's not to be cut off from
creditors, if it's going to buy oil, etc.(AFL CIO- supported import surge
bans at this point can turn a downturn into an absolute catastrope). To
prevent these import surges--and bans will hardly be totally
effective--it's in the interest of US labor to prevent crisis from ever
striking poor countries, and here the AFL CIO hardly does anything. It just
turns a blind eye to the mechanisms by which the world is impoverished.
I'm all for diversifying production and expanding the home market in
particular, but for a poor country trade (hampered by Northern protection)
is a crucial mechanism towards that end.
Yours, Rakesh

ps. I won't be responding to mail for about a week.