>Chief executives from leading US companies will warn the Bush administration
>on Friday that US trade is falling behind while the European Union, Mexico
>and even Japan forge ahead with new free trade agreements that could be
>hostile to US interests.
"Free trade" is always in crisis, it seems. Alarming signs of trade wars, breakdowns into regional blocs, wavering commitments, worrying backlashes. And yet the agenda goes from strength to strength. The crisis is necessary because, as the old saying goes, trade liberalization is like a bicycle - you have to keep going forward or you fall over.
Doug