I told him steel tariffs were a bad idea

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So the WTO does what it’s supposed to do and finds Bush’s steel tariffs illegal. Hooray! The WTO works. Now it’s time to see if the administration does. Will Bush finally realize that he is either for free markets or he isn’t?

Sadly, there’s reason to believe that he will be intransigent. It just seems to be part and parcel of the go-it-alone, get-outta-my-way, swaggering persona he’s presented to the world. For example, I’m not crazy about the UN. But if I was president, I would realize that the UN is a fact of life and that most other countries take it seriously. I would choose to express myself with polite diplomacy instead of utter contempt.

And the thing is, the WTO is nothing like the UN. But will Bush understand this or just perceive it as another international body trying to subjugate the U.S.? Will he see the EU smugly preparing the champagne across the Atlantic and dig in his heels? If he does, he’ll not just be hurting our economy, but a world trade system that has served us all well.

I think he might well dig in his heels, and not just because of his “us v. them” mentality, but for the same reason why he put up steel tariffs in the first place: politics. Bush knows that Pennsylvania, home of big steel, is a key election state. He’s visited that state more than any other as president. Will he piss off that special interest this close to an election?

Nov 10, 2003 | Comments

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3 comments posted

  1. Posted by mon - 11/13/2003

    very good

  2. Posted by Jerry Brito - 11/13/2003

    By “mon” she means “mom”. Very cute. I love you mom!!

  3. Posted by Matt H - 11/25/2003

    Is the title meant to be “I told him steel tariffs ‘were’ a bad idea”?

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