The world is angry with our policies

Look, even the National Review wants us out of this unilateral war that is making the whole world hate us!

Canada and Mexico, our top two export markets, are embroiled in trade feuds with the U.S., both triggered by American protectionism. As a global leader and a decent hemispheric neighbor — especially during these economic doldrums — the United States immediately should rejoin Canada and Mexico on the road to free trade.

…Obama’s $410 billion omnibus spending plan defunded a pilot program in which about 100 Mexican trucks were allowed to drive goods into the U.S. beyond a 25-mile frontier zone. American trucks were given equal access to Mexican destinations. (Removing goods from one country’s trucks and reloading them onto the other’s for onward travel has boosted transit costs anew. These eventually increase price tags.)

Mexico correctly argues that the North American Free Trade Agreement, which President Clinton signed in 1995, opened U.S. roads to Mexican trucks. However, Washington kept dragging its feet. In 2002, Congress imposed 22 safety regulations on Mexican (but not Canadian) trucks, and it was only in 2007 that the Bush administration started the pilot program. In exasperation at the cancellation of this initiative, Mexico has raised tariffs on 90 American exports worth $2.4 billion, including grapes and toilet paper. This reportedly will kill 40,000 American jobs. Mexico’s backlash against U.S. protectionism interrupted its unilateral reduction of average industrial tariffs from 10.4 percent in 2008 to a projected 4.2 percent in 2013.

Even worse, June 1 brought word that Canacar — an association of 4,500 Mexican trucking companies — had filed a grievance with the U.S. State Department seeking $6 billion in damages because of the pilot program’s termination and the resulting brick wall that arose in front of big rigs at the border.

“We want reciprocity,” Canacar attorney Pedro Ojeda told the Wall Street Journal. “The U.S. has notoriously not kept its commitments.”

I mean trade war, of course.

The world is angry with America

Andrew Roth writes:

China has now retaliated with a “Buy China” provision in their own stimulus bill. Canada has complained and all Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has done in response is pledge “cooperation.” No, we don’t need pledges. We need to revoke “Buy American.” We need to kill it.

Here is a list of countries that are angry with Obama’s short-sighted protectionism.  He wants to isolate America from the rest of the world by refusing to sign trade deals with them.

Canada ($600B) passes resolution to counter “Buy American” policy.

The European Union ($639B) calls it the “worst possible signal.”

Japan ($204B) warns the United States, and Australia ($32B) threatens retalitory measures.

After slamming the “Buy American” policy, India ($43B) raised tariffs.

Singapore ($43B) is concerned with “Buy American.”

The president of Brazil ($62B), a former labor activist, criticizes Buy American and has threaten to challenge the U.S. at the WTO.

France‘s ($72B) Nicholas Sarkozy wants a “Buy France” provision for french auto companies.

Big Labor opposes free trade, and Big Labor helped to get Obama elected.

So now we get a trade war.