Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela Reject U.S. Trade

[cal04]

Bolivia's new left-leaning president signed a pact with Cuba and Venezuela on Saturday rejecting U.S.-backed free trade and promising a socialist version of regional commerce and cooperation. Cuban authorities did not release copies of the so-called Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas signed by Bolivia's Evo Morales, so its contents were unclear.

Local media reported that it had the same language as the declaration signed last year by Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, which contained much leftist rhetoric, and few specifics, but was followed by closer economic ties between the two vehemently anti-U.S. leaders. The agreement was ``a clever mixture of politics and economics, weighted toward the politics,'' said Gary Hufbauer, an economist at the Institute for International Economics, a Washington think tank.

Venezuela-Cuba trade is expected to reach more than $3.5 billion this year - about 40 percent higher than in 2005. Among other measures, the deal signed between Chavez and Castro has Venezuela - the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and a major supplier to the United States - selling 90,000 barrels a day of crude to the communist-run island at international market prices, but in exchange for services and agricultural products instead of cash.

Morales, a Bolivian coca farmer who was swept to power on a leftist platform and has long railed against American economic and drug policies, claimed during his campaign to be ``the nightmare of the U.S. government.'' He, like Chavez, has tried to maintain a vibrant private sector while claiming an ever-larger role in managing the economy, and has toned down his rhetoric. he Cuba-Venezuela deal - known by its Spanish acronym ALBA, also the word for dawn - criticized Washington's efforts to expand its free trade with Latin American countries.

more
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5789318,00.html

[panader0]

1. OMG! a reverse boycott? LOL

[dipsydoodle]

2. ...in exchange for services etc...

Chavez is a great supporter of good old bartering, the simplest form of trade, which helps which certainly helps Cuba who probably have very little in foreign currency reserves.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

3. Let's see....that's another alliance being formed against the....

...NeoCon Junta. Too bad that whatever affects the Junta will also affect all Americans.

What a mess. A total failure of NeoCon foreign and domestic policies.

[jimshoes]

4. Wow, what if the rest of the world

figures out it can get anything they need from other countries than the US, and probably cheaper too now that china makes just about everything. That would kinda leave us with our stickers pecking out.

[rodeodance]

5. Qatar halts trade talks with U.S.--add another one--who does not like free

trade with the US.



Sat Apr-29-06 06:13 PM
Original message
Qatar halts trade talks with U.S.

DOHA, Qatar - Qatar has frozen bilateral free trade talks with the United States, saying Washington was imposing preconditions that were not in Doha's interest, a newspaper reported Saturday.

"The talks were not proceeding in the right direction. They were going nowhere. It was like two deaf people talking to each other. There was no sense in continuing with the dialogue," Al Khalifa said.


. . .

"We do not need a free trade agreement with the U.S.," Al Khalifa said.

Qatar, he said, already was a major destination of investment for U.S. companies because of favorable investment laws in the tiny Gulf nation.

Countries that are signing free trade deals with the U.S. are either getting financial support from Washington or want preferential treatment for their products in the U.S. markets, he said.

"As for Qatar, it needs none of these from America," said Al Khalifa.

Qatar's primary export is liquefied natural gas, for which there is a hungry worldwide market.

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/breaking_ne...

[oblivious]

7. US free trade deals are all about transfering control from govts to corps.

It's not just about getting the best deal for the US, but much more importantly how to bypass legislatures.

[struggle4progress]

8. !

[Solon]

6. Looks like they are laying the groundwork for this...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_American_Community_of_Nations

BTW, it was suggested by a leader in South America that this new organization be called the South American Union, the only problem was that it would be, under Spanish and Portugese, it would have the acronym USA, that would seem confusing, to say the least!

[Massacure]

11. Union Sur Americana (USA) versus Estados Unidos (EE.UU.)

[Judi Lynn]

9. Kick!

:kick: :kick: :kick:

[happydreams]

10. This will force the US to

get smart, quit trying to coerce other nations and hopefully usher in a new breed of leadership that understands the idiotic foreign policy of the Bush Junta.

[Judi Lynn]

12. Latin Leftists Forge Cooperation

Latin Leftists Forge Cooperation
Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba up the ante in challenging U.S. influence

Published on 2006-05-01 16:34 (KST)

Three leftist Latin American leaders recently inked an accord on Saturday which promises to strengthen their countries' economic and political ties against the macho posturing of the United States.

The trio -- Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Cuba's Fidel Castro, and Evo Morales of Bolivia -- met in Havana late last week to discuss the future of their respective nations and of South America as a whole. At the conclusion of their summit, the three decided to reject the American form of free trade and formulate a socialist version of regional economic and political cooperation.

Dubbed as the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, the pact was ostensibly created as a counterweight to the U.S.-backed FTAA -- the Free Trade Area of the Americas -- and the Andean community bloc. By forming a strong trade alliance with Cuba and Bolivia, Chavez hopes to dilute the heavy North American influence and control in the region.

In the deal, Cuba promised to send physicians to Bolivia to offer medical help to indigents and educators to assist in literacy campaigns. Venezuela will send fuel to the nation and wrap up a US$100 million fund for development projects, as well as an additional $30 million for social support programs.

Also, to alleviate Bolivia's agricultural market woes, Venezuela and Cuba agreed to buy the nation's soybean products after Bolivia was left in the cold with the signing of a free trade pact between Washington and Columbia.
(snip/...)

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=3&no=288997&rel_no=1

[Blaq Dem]

13. Bolivians weren't even allowed to drink rain water for free!

It's true. Water was once privatized by Bechtel. The government forced the Bolivian citizens to pay for every drop of water they consumed, even the water that came from the sky. The people rebelled and WON. They've been to hell and back.

--------------------------

January 20, 2006

Cochabamba wins final battle of water war

Before I came to Bolivia, Cochabamba was one of the few city names that would spark recognition amongst my activist friends. "Oh, yeah, that's where they had a 'Water war' that defeated that big multinational."

The story of how a Bolivian city had taken on a US corporate giant, Bechtel ,who had privatised their water supply and won (!) had managed to cross continents to reach them. I felt slight envy when I said I was probably going to learn spanish there.

Yesterday Cochabamba was back in the news again. This time because international pressure by activists around the world in support of Bolivia had forced the US multinational Bechtel (whose contract had been so rudely broken by popular protest) to back down and end a $50 million legal suit that they had filed against Bolivia in a secretive international trade court.... snip

Link to source

[Judi Lynn]

14. Absolutely inspirational! I've got to post some more of your article:

~snip~
The granting of the contract to Aguas del Tunari (majority shareholder, Suez) to run Cochabamba's water systems came about as a condition for World Bank debt relief in the mid-90s. It was done without transparency, and with a contract that allowed foreign companies to make minimum investment and yet guarantee a 15% rate of profit. It was typical of a process of liberalisation and deregulation of the economy that had been followed by Bolivia since 1985, which had earned it a reputation as a "model pupil" by the International Monetary Fund.

But whilst it may have been typical of so-called "neo-liberal" policies followed by Bolivia, it proved to be its apogée.

Soon after being awarded the contract, Aguas del Tunari put up water rates by an average of 50% and even started to expropriate communal water systems in the countryside that had been run by local communities for generations. Soon women responsible for running irrigation systems in the countryside were marching on Cochabamba, and found themselves united with city residents brandishing their latest water bills.

Talks of charging people for collecting rain-water turned anger into rage. Friends who were there said that even rich middle-class started to blockade the streets with their 4x4s. Initial calls for changes in company policies soon became a demand to take water back into public hands.
(snip/...)

I hope everyone's aware that the elder _Bush is completely identified with Bechtel. A real philanthropist, not.

Now Wolfowitz is the President of the World Bank. Figures.

I hope these characters live long enough to see their schemes against the human race turn to dust.

[Bacchus39]

15. Venezuela withdrew from the Andean community

trade bloc. he had a temper tantrum after Peru and Colombia signed a free trade agreement with the US.