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October 25, 2004
Protecting Bubba Gump
Last Thursday, the WSJ ran a front-page article on Vietnam and it's thriving shrimp industry. The article is yet another example of how trade not only makes us all better off financially, but it also brings cultures closer together. In the case the U.S. and Vietnam this is happening despite the fact our two countries were at war just a few decades ago. Unfortunately, the U.S. may begin to reverse this trend by placing tariffs on Vietnamese shrimp in order to protect domestic producers.
NAM CAN, Vietnam -- As a Viet Cong guerrilla, Chung Thanh Tam once dodged American bullets here in the Mekong delta. More than a decade later, he began raising shrimp in ponds dug beside these same waterways, and came to appreciate Americans for their hearty appetites.
Now, the 54-year-old Mr. Tam again feels under attack. In July, the U.S. Commerce Department proposed socking Vietnamese shrimp exports to the U.S. with tariffs ranging from 12% to 93%. The U.S. also imposed tariffs on five other nations, agreeing with the allegation of U.S. shrimpers that foreign competitors were unfairly selling shrimp at below-market prices, a practice known as dumping.
"Thanks to shrimp, I could afford decent marriages for my children," says the father of seven, donning aviator sunglasses against a fierce midday sun. "Now the U.S. is trying to make our life hard again."
As mentioned above, the tariffs will be justified on the grounds that the Commerce Department says the Vientamese are selling shrimp below costs. But here is a question to ponder: if Mr. Tam losing money by selling his shrimp "below cost", how does this help him to better afford decent marriages for his children?
Further down the article there is a quote that gives some comfort to those who, like me, worry that a Kerry administration will take the U.S. down a protectionist road:
"Vietnam is a country trying to follow our advice and reward entrepreneurship," says Frances Zwenig, a former chief of staff for Sen. John Kerry who has worked for years on building U.S. diplomatic and commercial ties to Vietnam. "Then when they take that advice, we punish them: That is a really harmful lesson."
If Kerry has surrounded himself with people like Zwenig in the past, it could be a sign he that Kerry's recent criticism of free trade is nothing more than pandering to his base during an election. And if in a little over a week we learn that he will be the 44th President of the United States, it is one sign of hope that he will return to his free trade roots.
Posted by Peter Mork at October 25, 2004 11:58 AM
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