Tweet [1]
Yesterday’s New York Times reports [2]:
The Bush administration made a preliminary ruling on Tuesday that China and Vietnam were dumping shrimp in the United States at below market prices and proposed duties as high as 112 percent.
Let’s reword and expand this account to reflect reality a bit more accurately:
The Bush administration made a preliminary ruling on Tuesday that American consumers were buying shrimp from China and Vietnam at prices that the administration concludes are below the levels that are necessary to ensure President Bush substantial-enough political support in states with significant shrimping industries. To bribe U.S. shrimpers for their political support in the upcoming election, the administration proposed that all Americans who insist on buying Chinese and Vietnamese shrimp be penalized by being forced to pay upwards of double what they now pay for these shrimp.
By the way, in a separate action, shrimpers in Brazil, Thailand, Ecuador, and India are accused of shrimp dumping.