Are we seeing a return of protectionist tendencies?
As a parting shot to the French, George Bush slaps a massive tariff on Rocquefort – a policy that wraps itself all too easily in the "cheese eating surrender monkies" jibe thrown around in response to French policies over Iraq.
Now I note that the Commission has been involved in anti-dumping measures with the Chinese. Nothing new there. Normally it's clothing, or shoes, or ball bearings, or bicycles. But (as 2009/C 3/07 reveals) it's a new one: ironing boards.
About this time into the first Bush administration, Chinese and US planes were ramming each other off Taiwan. The EU style on the other hand is to argue about subsidising the removal of creases.
In any event, these relatively tiny disputes provide us with an early window into how the new transatlantic relationship is going to work. Obama can win cheap points by reversing the tariffs and proving himself the grand fromage. But long term, in the present economic downturn, will blocisme or free trade win out?
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Lee Rotherham
Lee is a Research Fellow at the TPA. Co-author of the hit Bumper Books of Government Waste, he is an extensively published EU expert and front bench adviser.
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