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http://www.americanfreepress.net/06_17_02/EU_Demands_/eu_demands_.html EU Demands to Compete With U.S. Public Works Do you want a European company delivering your mail. Or selling you water? Exclusive to American Free Press By Jack Ross The European Union has asked the U.S. Trade Representative to allow Europeans to compete for public works projects provided by the federal government, most notably with the postal service and with the “market” for water. This appeal is based on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which is meant to fill the void in most free trade agreements that mostly cover trade in goods. While most business leaders scoff at the idea that the international free trade regime threatens government trusts anywhere, there is ample reason for concern. It is mandated under GATS that foreign corporations be treated at least as well as any domestic entity. This is foreign money interests sabotaging the general welfare. Unlike most other public works provided by the United States, the postal service is spelled out in the Constitution. Ceding it to foreign corporations would be tantamount to treason. This appeal by the EU comes with the renewal of a longstanding demand that the United States allow foreign-owned ships to ferry certain lucrative cargo between U.S. ports. The law currently requires all such ships to be built, owned and operated by Americans, and the preservation of this law has always been achieved by a coalition of business and labor. The suggestion that the postal service sell itself to European business interests is certain to face even greater opposition. The postmaster general and the American Postal Workers Union are opposing the EU demands. But most devastating is the attempt by these same European business interests to claim supremacy over the United States’ water supply. FIERCE OPPOSITION In six states—Florida, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin—proposals by foreign bottling companies to pump huge amounts of water from rural areas, as much as 500 gallons a day, have been met by fierce local opposition. The most notable case is in Michigan, where Perrier is vying for the right to dry up Michigan’s aquifers. Two facts make the water situation far more ominous. First, a recent article in Business Week claims water to be “the oil of the 21st century.” In other words, water, the source of all life, will be of the same lofty status among commodities and carry the very same geopolitical significance that oil does today. Second, already, almost all of the world’s water supply under private ownership is owned by two European corporations—Suez, which owns Perrier, and Vivendi, which is owned by the Carlyle Group, the notorious global corporate juggernaut. It is therefore of the utmost importance that all requests made under GATS are given full transparency and are heard before elected representatives. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om |
