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From: john@bby-bc.UUCP
Newsgroups: can.politics
Subject: "free" trade
Message-ID: <171@bby-bc.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 23-Oct-87 01:43:49 EST
Article-I.D.: bby-bc.171
Posted: Fri Oct 23 01:43:49 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 25-Oct-87 10:50:56 EST
Distribution: can
Organization: Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Lines: 37

As readers of this group can probably tell I am against a free trade
agreement with the US.  But just for the sake of argument, if we were
going to have a deal the one we've been offered stinks!

What do we get out of it?

Cheap US goods?- we could have had that any time, and unilaterally,
		 just by dropping the few remaining duties left.

Assured access to US markets? - doesn't seem like it; they can still 
			       pass whatever restrictive trade legislation
			       they want.

access to US finacnial markets? - nope.  Their banks can set up here but
				  ours can't increase down there.


So much for free trade.  What about all this other stuff in the deal?


continental energy? - "we'll let you set up a store in our town but you
		       have to keep selling to us forever" gee what deal!
		       A country that can not decide who to sell to and at
		       what price is no longer a sovereign nation.

no review of foreign purchases? - even the US agrees we have an amazingly
				  high percentage of foreign ownership in
				  Canada; now we are going to let it be
				  increased without limit?  Again, not the
				  act of a sovereign nation.
etc
etc
etc

If we are going to have a trade deal it should be precisely that.
Nothing should limit the powers of our elected government to say
what goes on in this country except the electorate itself.