[Legislurker]

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D$D, I could not disagree with you more. The point is that in legal terms it is Antiqua with the better, bigger car (case). The other nations are confused that the US seems bent on committing suicide and believe that it will swerve at the last minute.
If the US doesn't swerve and a collision occurs, then everyone (WTO) dies and with it the US economy. The last time the world experienced a collapse of the world trading order was in the late 1920's. Then the nations of the world were not nearly so dependent on each other for trade.
OK, some do not think that Smoot-Hartley caused the Great Depression, but most think that it had a role. Do we really want to experience a collapse of the WTO?

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Thanks JP. Antigua has the better case/car, the analogy isnt perfect. Smoot-Hawley was just a reflection of what went on in the world at the time. One big thing in trade/intl policy studies in the 90s was that the two great waves of trade deliberalization (1870s and around the Great Depression) led directly to the situations that set up the two world wars. Imagine the problems when oil comes OFF the market. Its bought and sold to countries openly(wiht the exception of China buying exclusivity in Sudan and Nigeria).
Or say copper and asphalt were taken off the world market. Its a [censored] criminal shame that politicians don't unite to fight the force against trade. Sooner or later if the will to keep liberalizing trade isn't there we will go back to colonial/mercantilist trading blocs and wind up coming to blows over commodities. We're THIS close to Brazil and India giving up on the WTO/GATT rounds. If that happens all [censored] will follow.