Once again Mr Stewart McArthur is trying to distract attention from the anomalies gnerated by multilateral free trade agreements by crying yet more crocodile tears over poor market access for Third World countries (GA 19/2/00).

Mr McArthur's example of the pro-free trade stance of Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo is hardly representative of Third World views on the WTO agenda. Mexico is controlled by US trade interests through the draconian North American Free Trade Agreement and has tens of billions of dollars in outstanding loans from the International Monetary Fund. Between NAFTA and the IMF the Mexican economy is so damaged that the only growth area that I know of is the kidnapping-for-ransom industry.

While Mr McArthur avoids the complexities surrounding issues such as trade in services and clings to his idealised model of economic exchange, the real world keeps intruding. Australia now faces the prospect of a $45 million trade war with Canada over Tasmania's refusal to risk its industry to potentially diseased salmon imports. Hundreds of employees from Howe Leather may also lose their jobs because the WTO is demanding that the company pay back a $30 million government grant.

There is only one possible benefit that I can see. If the unsustainable Australian public forest logging industry were assessed under the WTO rules it would be such down in an instant because of the non-recovery of taxpayer subsidised public agency costs conservatively estimated at $100 million (National Institute of Economic and Industry Research). Unfortunately this is unlikely to happen because the US is currently trying to use the WTO to get a 9.2% increase in Australian forest product exports.

The Geelong Community Forum supports fair trade that does not compromise the ability of democratically elected governments to assist with industry development and to protect the environment and labor rights.