Bmda: WTO bound in self-defense

Bermuda is considering joining the World Trade Organisation to fend off unfair trading practices by certain US states.

And Government is to spend $200,000 on lobbying Washington but Finance Minister Paula Cox played down the threat from Presidential hopeful John Kerry.

Ms Cox said: "Bermuda must be ever vigilant in defending its national economic interests. Over the course of the last two years, individual US states have engaged in unfair and discriminatory trade practices that posed some risks to Bermuda's international business sector.

Man, I hope this $200K is not going to be paid to the usual powerless suspects.

There is also this which demonstrates Kerry's forked tongue

[Finance Minister Cox] added: "Government fully appreciates the dynamics and nuances that have characterised the US presidential campaign. Bermuda's fine name has been mentioned on a number of occasions and typically not in a flattering context. (Kerry's been bandying it around)
...
She pointed out that the US administration was not gung-ho on corporate inversions. "Very recently, in testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, Treasury Secretary John Snow said that while the administration is concerned about corporate inversions 'it is not the administration's view that every time a company moves offshore that that's an abusive tax shelter'.

"He continued by saying: 'Clearly that is not the case, sometimes companies go offshore because of the effects of our own tax code on them, vis-a-vis the tax regime our competitors have."

Corporate tax inversions were a matter for the US authorities to deal with said Ms Cox. Even if Senator Kerry became President a major shift in US policy was not predicted, said the Minister.

"In the Senate, Senator Kerry has voted for every piece of free trade legislation and therefore has the perspective of an internationalist in the realm of global economics."