Hezbollah fires rocket barrages into Israel after deadly Beirut strikes    British man captured while fighting with Ukraine    Far-right candidate takes shock lead in Romania presidential election    Indians risk it all to chase the American Dream    Al Ittihad claims top spot in Saudi Pro League after victory over Al Fateh    Do cigarettes belong in a museum?    Saudi Arabia joins international partnership initiative to boost hydrogen economy    Riyadh Emir inaugurates International Conference on Conjoined Twins in Riyadh    Saudi delegation participates in the 7th U20 Deans Summit in Brazil    Al-Jubeir discusses with EU officials enhancing bilateral cooperation    GASTAT: Non-oil exports up 22.8% in September 2024    Saudi Arabia to host 28th Annual World Investment Conference in Riyadh    Saudi Arabia allows licensed flour milling companies to export flour    Al Khaleej stuns Al Hilal with 3-2 victory, ending 57-match unbeaten run    SFDA move to impose travel ban on workers of food outlets in the event of food poisoning    Al Okhdood halts Al Shabab's winning streak with a 1-1 draw in Saudi Pro League    Saudi musical marvels takes center stage in Tokyo's iconic opera hall    Al Khaleej qualifies for Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship final    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Sitting too much linked to heart disease –– even if you work out    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Trump deal with Mexico a win for 'hostage-taking': Former WTO chief
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 08 - 06 - 2019

The migration deal imposed on Mexico this week by U.S. President Donald Trump under the threat of punitive tariffs was a victory for "hostage-taking" over international rules, a former head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Saturday.
Late on Friday, the United States and Mexico struck an accord to avert a tariff war when Mexico agreed to expand a contentious asylum program and deploy security forces to stem the flow of illegal immigration from Central America.
Mexico made the concessions after Trump threatened to slap escalating import tariffs of 5% on all Mexican goods from Monday if the administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador did not do more to tighten its borders.
"My reaction is it seems that hostage-taking works. That's my reaction," Pascal Lamy, a former director-general of the WTO, told Reuters in a telephone interview, saying that Trump's actions went against the spirit of international diplomacy.
"If there's a rule of law, it's because people believe it's better than the law of the jungle. And many people don't like the law of the jungle because some are strong, some are weak, and they don't want the strong to always step on the weak."
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the remarks by Lamy, who has criticized the American president's use of tariffs in the past.
Trump, meanwhile, has blamed the WTO for not doing enough to defend U.S. global trade interests, and in August 2018 threatened to pull the United States out of the organization.
Global markets have been roiled in recent months by the Trump administration's aggressive use of tariffs to assert U.S. economic power, fanning concern about the stability of multilateral institutions that grew up after World War Two.
A former European Commissioner for Trade who headed the WTO from 2005 to 2013, Lamy has been a staunch defender of that rules-based system. His criticism of Trump's tariffs reflects wider misgivings about the United States going it alone.
Mexico sends around 80% of its exports to the United States, giving Trump ample leverage to put pressure on Lopez Obrador over a surge in migrant apprehensions on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Lamy said it was understandable that Mexico had sought to extricate itself from the tariff bind, but noted it ran the risk of facing more threats from Trump in future.
He was in "absolutely no doubt" that the WTO would have found in favor of Mexico if Lopez Obrador had asked the trade body to arbitrate the dispute with Trump, a process he said would have taken around two years for a definitive ruling.
"The U.S. president is taking trade decisions that are in total violation of the WTO rules," Lamy said.
"That was the case with these Mexican tariffs. The notion that you put a tariff because there are too many people crossing the border is just miles away from any letter and spirit of the WTO agreement. Which is why I qualify this as hostage-taking."
Turning to Trump's clashes with the WTO, Lamy said it was still not clear whether the U.S. president was more interested in reforming the organization, or neutralizing it.
Lamy said Trump had complaints worth heeding, noting that some WTO rules currently made it hard to constrain Chinese trade practices that have caused frictions.
But he said the rest of the world needed a fallback plan if the United States decided not to abide by international rules.
"The others have to find a way to stabilize the multilateral rules-based system," he said, "even if the U.S. want to kill it." — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.