In another signal of congressional unease with U.S. trade policies and China's growing presence in the world trading system, more than 80 House members today voted in favor of a resolution calling for the United States to withdraw from the World Trade Organization.
At the June 2-3 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Cheju, Korea, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Portman and Trade Ministers from the 20 other APEC economies unanimously endorsed a strong statement advancing an ambitious outcome to the WTO Doha negotiations and spurring further progress toward free and open trade and investment in the Asia Pacific region.
Senior trade officials from the US and Australia had welcomed the agreement, with Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile saying that it would 'inject new momentum' into the talks at the WTO.
Part of the push came from the strong support for an ambitious NAMA approach tabled earlier this week by Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation trade ministers, who met last week in South Korea.
As the Organization of American States completes its three-day session debating the role of free trade and neoliberalism in fostering democracy for the continent, the country of Bolivia is on the brink of a civil war over that very question.
