The trade agreement crisis in two texts
The trade agreement crisis in two texts
Societas Criticus, revue de critique sociale et politique, Vol. 27-02, Éditos : www.societascriticus.com
A translation assisted by Google translation and Antidote of our French text La crise des accords commerciaux en deux textes
Trump: Inefficiency mounts in global system
> A translation of Trump : l’inefficacité montée en système mondial
Societas Criticus, revue de critique sociale et politique, Vol. 27-02, Éditos : www.societascriticus.com
Michel Handfield, M.Sc. sociology (2025-04-15)
In addition to challenging international agreements (such as the climate agreement) and his contributions to the UN and NATO (1), Donald Trump wants to negotiate piecemeal trade agreements with different countries to replace what is already being done. "Trump is therefore imposing customs duties on 185 countries" (2) in order to renegotiate individually with each of them, rather than recognizing the rules already established by the World Trade Organization (WTO).
We cannot negotiate everything piecemeal between countries for everything and nothing.
Imagine what resources that would take. And we're not even talking about renegotiations in the event of disagreement over the slightest comma between a few countries. That's why we have the UN; international organizations specific to certain subjects, such as the WTO, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the World Health Organization, and several others. These organizations, responsible for international agreements, simplify trade between countries by standardizing it. But the right, which claims to be against bureaucratic inefficiency, does not see the benefits through willful blindness.
Yet, it's easy to imagine that if the WTO and all these international agreements are torn down, all these countries will have to renegotiate each of these agreements individually. A colossal task. We will no longer be in a bureaucracy, but in a veritable Tower of Babel.
Donald Trump is inefficiency and chaos erected as a global system.
This does not mean that improvements and changes are not necessary, such as giving more space to the social and solidarity economy, for example. But these changes can be made within the current system; in an orderly and cooperative manner under the aegis of existing organizations. On an economic level, this could continue through the WTO, for example, which is preferable to renegotiating what has already been agreed on by more than one hundred countries. And the same goes for negotiations on climate or health. Otherwise, it would be chaos.
That being said, this brings us back to our second text.
Notes
1. Matthew Lee et Farnoush Amiri, Associated Press, ONU et OTAN : La Maison-Blanche propose de couper les contributions, La Presse, 14 avril 2025 :
2. Couverture en direct, Trump impose des droits de douane à 185 pays : les faits saillants, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/info/en-direct/1012535/trump-nouveaux-tarifs-douaniers-americains (Vu le 2025-04-14)
China and the West: Absence of Rights or Different Rights?
> A translation of La Chine versus l’occident : absence de droits ou des droits différents ?
Societas Criticus, revue de critique sociale et politique, Vol. 27-02, Éditos : www.societascriticus.com
Michel Handfield, M.Sc. sociology (2025-04-15)
« Development is a common pursuit of humanity and a fundamental right recognized by the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. » (1)
Now China is giving lessons to the United States, which considers itself a great democracy. And yet, experts are far from describing China as a democratic model.
Could it be that the concept of rights is influenced by philosophical ideas and cultural norms?
So, this could explain this difference between China and the West. Thus, in China, you have economic rights, but not personal rights, because the person is a cog in the country and the system. In the West, on the contrary, the individual has rights, but the community does not. They can even go against the rights of others in the name of their individuality. It is the judicial system that will decide in the end! In this system, companies are considered legal entities, since rights belong to individuals, not collectives.
Now try to fit these differences into individual agreements between 185+ countries (2) and a normal person will understand why international bodies and agreements exist to manage all this. Tearing them up will only lead to chaos, as these agreements represent decades of work. But Donald Trump doesn't understand this and is plunging the world into a crisis that was not necessary. That's the reality.
Notes
1. Global Times editorial, ‘America First’ cannot deprive other nations of development rights, GLOBAL TIMES, Apr 9, 2025 :
https://enapp.globaltimes.cn/article/1331802
2. Couverture en direct, Trump impose des droits de douane à 185 pays : les faits saillants, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/info/en-direct/1012535/trump-nouveaux-tarifs-douaniers-americains (Vu le 2025-04-14)