For Sale: Iraq

[pippin]

America puts Iraq up for sale
By Philip Thornton in Dubai and Andrew Gumbel
22 September 2003

"Iraq was in effect put up for sale yesterday when the American-appointed administration announced it was opening up all sectors of the economy to foreign investors in a desperate attempt to deliver much-needed reconstruction against a daily backdrop of kidnappings, looting and violent death."

Terms of sale for American businesses include:

"• 100 per cent foreign ownership in all sectors except natural resources;
• direct ownership as well as joint ventures and setting up branches;
• full, immediate remittance to the host country of profits, dividends, interest and royalties.

Privatisation of everything from electricity and telecommunications to pharmaceuticals and engineering could see hundreds of previously state-owned companies sold off.

There will be a tax holiday for the rest of this year, and income and business taxes for investors will be capped at 15 per cent from next year.

Trade tariffs will be slashed to show that Iraq is a "country that embraces free trade". A 5 per cent surcharge will be levied on all imports, other than humanitarian goods such as food, medicine and books, to fund the reconstruction effort. "

What a deal!
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=445744

[Mari333]

1. Cheap labour for WalMart

Think of the EZ labour market there...you starve people long enough, they will work for anything.
Wait..thats my town. Never mind.

[ewagner]

2. Thought I was hearing things

I saw a 10 second blurb on this on CNN last night but there hasn't been any commentary from anybody.

Some interesting points:

All Sectors except "natural resources (spelled: oil) are up for sale. This is probably because of the lucrative government contracts to Brown and Root. Can't have competitive bidding now can we?

Information was released on Sunday before Bush speaks to UN Dollars to donuts this will show up in Bush's speech as an example of how well things are going in Iraq. Or, in the alternative, Bush will have to give up some control in Iraq in order to get his measly, watered down resolution and wants to "fast-track" his total privatization plan for his investor-class buddies before control is lost.

Anybody els have any comments?

edited because I can't fing spell

This is really big stuff............