Despite the his policies crumbling around him he remains oblivious to the failures until the very end. The so-called "free trade" has been a farce and never free. Well sure, it's been free as long as the US has been able to fund friends and then shove cheap products down the throat of international markets and wipe them out. Free trade as it's been deployed so far hasn't brought the fabulous benefits that were promised to either side.
President Bush, in what could be his final overseas trip as president, called on international leaders Saturday to continue his administration's push for free trade despite the global financial crisis.Great. So where the hell are the jobs? Notice how he skips over the million US jobs lost this year, before the year is even over.
"One of the enduring lessons of the Great Depression is that global protectionism is a path to global economic ruin," Bush told the annual meeting of the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in the capital, Lima.
"I recognize I'm leaving office in two months," Bush said as he discussed the Doha trade talks, which were launched in 2001 to help liberalize international trade policies, "but nevertheless, this administration will push hard ... so that Doha can be completed and so we can send a message: We refuse to accept protectionism in the 21st century."
Touting his record on free trade, Bush said, "expanding trade and investment has been one of the highest priorities of my administration.
"When I took office, America had free trade agreements in force with only three nations. Today, we have agreements in force with 14."
Bush said that during his administration, "America's trade with the world has grown from $2.5 [trillion] to $4 trillion, an increase of 60 percent."
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