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I was under the impression that we gain way more out of our involvement with WTO than pretty much everybody else.
Is withdrawing from the WTO as simple as FOF makes it sound?
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It is easy to leave .... that's not the issue. (you just tell everyone that you are no longer part of the WTO lol )
The issue is that there would no doubt be consequences because almost all the nations are in the WTO these days and it would be difficult for any intellectual property to be protected outside the USA without being in the WTO. There would be imo consequences shortterm and longterm, anyone who tells otherwise is lying. But in the end they can be overcome, they are not a huge issue. The USA would just have to make agreements between them and individual nations (as in the "old" days) which would be no problem cause the USA is still the largest economy (you would have to be an idiot to not want to make a deal with the USA ).
However the real question is this "would it be the right thing to do to leave?". And my answer is yes without any doubt. It would be good for all "normal" USA citizens. The main issue now is that the USA government is nothing more than a WTO slave. They can say whatever they want in congress but in the end the WTO decides. This can never be a good thing. Also many things the WTO does happen in secret (which is another bad thing). Noone knows what exactly is decided there (i am guessing not even the president ).
Again I fully understand that pokerplayers who want to play online might have a different opinion atm about the WTO. But there are other ways to fight the UIGEA imo. You don't need the WTO. Every time you want something from the WTO they will take alot more from you .... .
To compare it with poker ... lets say you sign up for 50% rakeback at a site and then suddenly the site changes the agreement and gives you less and less rakeback and charging you fees without asking you anything. That's basically how the WTO operates. They make you sign an agreement and then add or change it without giving you a chance to agree or disagree. (in poker you can change sites, however with the WTO you can't change to another organization .... you might as well just leave ).
One of the plans of WTO is the codex alimentarius , most people have no idea what it is and I didn't either till a few months ago. I have asked several politicians about it and have received no answer at all. But what I found out about it is that it will be a mandatory standard for all nations who are in the WTO. If a country refuses to comply they can not appeal to the WTO for anything , they will lose every single case cause they are not codex compliant. To make it worse this law is not a regular law , but can be compared to laws from the 19th century as in everything not permitted is forbidden and the law can not be overturned by your government or congress. It will stand above all other laws and will have to be enforced (if not you run into problems with the WTO ). The idea right now is to make it mandatory at the end of 2009. Part of the index outlaws almost all vitamins, it reintroduces certain dangerous pesticides, it allows imported food to contain certain dangerous substances and a whole list of bad things. Basically vitamins and minerals are classified as poison under the codex and most will be forbidden (as in illegal just like drugs is now). This is of course a very dangerous law ..... unfortunately it happens all in secret and almost noone seems to know anything about it.
As individual country you have only one choice if you don't want this index ..... leave the WTO unless you can get enough support to change it (but knowing the WTO this will be tough).
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Read the following link closely and then take a deep breath.
web page
"...the US is under absolutely no obligation to change its existing laws and replace them with Codex guidelines..."
We also apparently already participate in the Codex.
The sky is not falling. Your God will protect you. Just relax...