THE LAND — JUNE 26/JULY 3, 2020
www.thelandonline.com — “Where Farm and Family Meet”
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No one ever loves the umpire While the coronavirus Union in the 1970s to the pandemic was hammering vast, reawakening giant, global trade earlier this China, in the 2000s. year, the various U.S. But for all its strengths, bureaucracies devoted to the liberal order is still a trade barely skipped a beat delicate balancing act. If before returning to their you want its benefits (open usual grind. markets, free trade and For example, the United FARM & FOOD FILE peace) you must constantly States and the United reinvest to maintain its By Alan Guebert Kingdom just began foundations: rules, trust talks on a bilateral trade in its institutions, and pact prior to the U.K.’s strong, unwavering Oct. 31 “Brexit” from the American leadership. European Union. Also, on July 1, Alas, the Trump Administration has NAFTA 2.0, the new-but-not-new turned America’s traditional leaderNorth American Free Trade ship role in international trade on its Agreement, will go into effect as head. Within hours of taking office in scheduled. 2017 the White House pulled the What has changed drastically, howUnited States out of the nearly-comever, is trade itself. In short, it’s a pleted Trans-Pacific Pact — a beaten-up mess — even more sickly 12-nation trade deal that involves than the economies of key traders like about 40 percent of global trade. A the United States, China and the year later, the United States began a European Union. largely phony tariff war with Canada, China, the European Union, and other “In the current alternate universe we’re living in,” Bloomberg News noted key food importers which remains unresolved today. June 15, “global trade is collapsing and the WTO [World Trade But the biggest victim in the White Organization] and the liberal order House’s ongoing undermining of interitself are in a true existential crisis.” national ag trade is the World Trade Organization. The WTO is like base“Liberal order” is a little-used ball’s home plate umpire. Few players phrase in U.S. ag circles even though or fans for either side love the ump, almost every American farmer and but there wouldn’t be a game without rancher — due to their increasing dependence on government and global someone ensuring fairness. markets — would be sunk without it. Long before the pandemic began to erode global markets, the Trump In fact, it isn’t a political term; it’s perfectly descriptive: The liberal order White House began to erode the WTO’s role in market rule enforceis a rules-based, international system organized by the United States and its ment. Its most cutting action occurred democratic allies on key principles like last year when it blocked the nomination of new judges to the WTO’s “disopen markets, democracy, and multipute resolution forum, the Appellate lateral institutions such as the WTO Body.” That effectively meant the WTO and World Bank. Its broader goal is “was no longer able to operate.” peace and its key tool is commerce. Other key global traders, sensing an American farmers and ranchers opportunity to seize part of America’s have long used a colorful phrase to global authority, stepped in to do just explain it more accurately: Hungry that. “In January, 17 WTO members, people don’t shoot their grocers. They’re right. Since the liberal order’s including the European Union, China rise, the United States has built three and Brazil, began setting up a parallel generations of peaceful farm policy on WTO court without the U.S,” reported Politico June 14. its core foundations: open markets, free trade, and international rules. So where does that leave American farmers and ranchers? The proof is in the post-war pudding. U.S. farmers and ranchers have domiHere’s where: The pandemic has nated global ag export markets for crushed 25 percent of the world econodecades, from decidedly anti-democratSee GUEBERT, pg. 5 ic Cold War enemies like the Soviet
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