Thursday, February 7, 2008

PRIVATE JAMAICAN CITIZEN TO SUE EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER KROES OVER FARM SUBSIDIES WHILE JAMAICAN POLITICIANS CAPITULATES!

"There are persons who believe that the preferences that we have enjoyed - this business where Europe paysyou twice as much for your sugar than they can buy it elsewhere - that those are things that must remain inperpetuity. It is a kind of mendicancy that we need topurge ourselves of." Prime Minister Bruce GoldingSure charity and remittances are destabilizing but it does seem as if Bruce Golding is completely unaware that this same Europe subsidizes its own farmers to the tune of EU$100 billion dollar per year.

This usidy clearly creates an unfair and uncompetitiveatmosphere for non-European farmers who export andsell farm produce to European markets. It was thissame Europe under Commissioner Neelie Kroes, , who sued and fined Microsoft hundreds of millions of EU dollars because it said, Microsoft had an unfair competiveadvamtage over other software competitors. Unless Commissioner Kroes can document otherwise, the Microsoft action does seem to parrallel the EU farmsubsidy programs and should be a sound basis for alawsuit filed on behalf of farmers worldwide.

Does the European farm subsidey create a similarcompetitive advantage for European farmers? I would not expect Bruce Golding to challenge the European over this; he is in a particularly weak position. But just like I did in the Trafiggura affair, while politicians were spinning their partisan tops, I wassending dozens of emails to the Dutch Police,prosecutors and the press urging prosecution of thePNP. In fact, I claim to have done more than the entire local JLP politicl machinery in thisregard and WILL TAKE UP THIS SUBSIDY MATTER WITH COMMISSIONER KROES MYSELF including a potential lawsuit to follow! The backbones of our leaders have been irreparablybroken. This is what happens when a country is financed by loans and charities.

Written by John Anthony