I’m no fan of the World Trade Organization, but I am hardly shedding tears at its ruling against the U.S. program under which the federal government imposes anti-dumping duties on foreigners and gives the money to domestic competitors. The charge of “dumping,” that is, selling below cost, is always trumped up because the notion of cost can be manipulated to put the rabbit in the hat every time. (Costs are subjective, of course.) The WTO ruling permits retaliatory sanctions against U.S. exporters, which of course won’t right the wrong but merely compoundit.
In response, the Bush administration says it will go to Congress to modify the program. No doubt they will just come up with some minor variation, given that the administration pledges to remain on guard against “unfair trade.” What is it about the term free trade that is so hard to understand?
