The Free Trade Scam

Ned's followers know that he has been a sharp critic of twaddle and nonsense, and of conventional wisdom bereft of critical analysis. He will now discuss the scam of 'free trade.' Ned's friends may recall that in earlier posts, Ned described ocean-going vessels as among the most heavily subsidized means of transport on earth. He now calls his friends attention to another scam associated with so-called free trade, the uncompensated cost associated with invasive species. Most recently, Ned's associates in the agricultural community made him aware of a looming problem which threatens to decimate (please no snippy protests about the use of decimate here) the hazelnut/filbert crop in his home state of Oregon. A new pest is beginning to attack the trees, from China of course, imported along with a cargo load of schlock, dross and manufactured goods from that country. The pest is working its way south from Portland, has no natural enemies, and could result in either the death of trees, loss of fruit or the necessity of heavy pesticide application which would destroy the state's organic filbert industry. No one in China has stepped up to offer to compensate growers, and no one in our government is proposing requiring shippers to obtain liability insurance to pay for the damage their imported invasive species cost. These costs run into the tens of billions each year, according to the USDA and EPA, and our environment pays for them, along with state and federal taxpayers.
Now, back to those cargo vessels. They use the cheapest, most polluting fuel available, called Fuel Oil #6, or bunker fuel. This is also the fuel with by far the highest sulfur content, such that it is one of the largest remaining sources of acid rain and other air pollution affecting coastal communities around the world. And the owners and operators of these vessels have to pay none of the pollution costs. Moreover, by international agreement, this fuel is not taxed. All of these subsidies result in a transport cost of 1/3 to 1/2 that associated with truck or rail transport. This is why it may be "cheaper" to ship rice from China to Oregon than to ship rice from California's Central Valley.
Ned encourages his friends to be angry. Be very angry...