'The State It's In' - Squall Editorial

U.S. Throws Lapdog Bone Of Contention

July 1999

The ominous march of the United States of corporate America is continuing apace after a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling that Europe is not allowed to refuse purchase of US beef packed with growth hormones. Earlier this year the World Trade Organisation allowed the Americans to penalise Europe to the tune of $190 million for selectively buying bananas from small Caribbean producers rather than from American corporations.

A further $116 worth of trade sanctions has now been added following the beef ruling, and even greater sanctions are imminent if Europe continues to refuse American genetically modified foods. As one WTO staffer was quoted recently: "GM foods will make bananas look like peanuts."

The WTO is supposed to be an independent organisation responsible for policing global capitalism. In reality, however, America's economic influence has turned it into a vehicle for its own ambitions to assume full mastership of a new world order. Over 80% of world trade is now conducted in American dollars, entraining the world's economy to US economic policy and ambition. Britain's role in facilitating this US dominance was clearly stated by Tony Blair in 1998: "Part of Britain's role and function is to be a bridge between the US and Europe, to say to Europe: 'Recognise the value of American leadership in the world', and to say to the US 'Believe me people do value the leadership'."

In almost every facet of US/European relations, Britain has helped facilitate US interests in Europe. Most recently, the UK government were the first and foremost vociferous collaborators with US interventions in the Gulf and in Yugoslavia. Critics of NATO's intervention in Kossovo spoke not out of support for Milosovic but from a position of recognising that America's motivation was contrary to its stated aims of human rights and genocide. America promoted its action as another in a series of attempts to become the world's police. Moves are afoot within the American Congress to persuade Britain to join the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) masterminded by the US rather than seek closer ties with the European Union. According to Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House of Representatives: "If, as appears likely, there is a movement in the US Congress...to offer Britain some associated status in NAFTA, I would support it."

When trade sanctions were placed on European countries following the banana ruling earlier this year, there was a very real possibility that Scotland's Cashmere industry would be ruined as a result. Not so. For all its loyal support, America made sure that UK industries were not hit as hard as other European trades. Rushing to appear in support of Bill Clinton during the beleaguered months of his Monica Lewinsky trial, instrumental in manoeuvring Europe away from defying US blockades of Cuba and making every effort to get UK citizens to accept GM food are just three of many manoeuvres which have placed Blair as a favourite among America's loyal lap-dogs.