India?
While you weren't looking this week, India began free trade negotiations with Peru, signed various trade, oil and natural gas agreements with Ecuador and bid on a major Bolivian mining project. If this was the US, the anti-globalization crowd would be up in arms over the imperialist economic moves. With India, nothing to see here folks, just keep moving along.
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There's another difference here. I don't believe that India is subsidizing its farmers nor do I believe that they are putting much of an emphasis on intellectual property protections, so it in fact may actually be free trade.
not to mention that China has been getting coverage lately as if they were the first in Asia to find out that Latin America has natural resources it wants to tap into...Japan decades ago made the same discovery and have pumped a lot of constructive investment (and aid) into the region since.
I would bet India still having some sort of agricultural subsidies, at least local levels, they simply have too many states/and or regions under different administrations - a complaint made about such things as electrical power distribution.
It's a really good point Randy. However, do you believe that most people protesting free trade are doing so based on a careful analysis of the details of the plan? I have a hard time believing those guys wearing black bandanas over their faces and throwing rocks are sitting quietly reading the details of the India agreements and saying "oh, I think that's a good deal and I'll support it."
Boli-nica, I'm not quite as sure about India, but I can definitely say that trade deals with China have had their down sides in the region as China has far fewer labor regulations than Latin America. My guess is we'll see protests over the China deals before the India ones.
Boz,
I wouldn't presume to know what they are thinking, but I believe that the comparison between "free trade" agreements involving the US and free trade involving India would be reasonably clear to people following this issue, especially post-NAFTA.
Boli-Nica,
I doubt if India would have such subsidies given the payments they had to make to the Brits during the colonial period. the farmers probably just want to be left alone.
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