Friday, September 7, 2012

Blog #2: At Least Someone's Trying



Nations of the Asia-Pacific have been striving to promote trade in green technologies for years. They've been trying to promote a free-trade zone for years. Finally, on Sept 6, 2012, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, a consensus-based group focused on economic problems,  agreed to cut import duties on technology to improve economic growth to help save the environment. Since APEC represents 40 percent of the world's population, 54 percent of the economic output and 44 percent of its trade (NY Times Article), this promotion could have large affects on our worlds environmental concerns. According to the deputy U.S trade representative, Demetrious Marantis, this would be a "significant achievement" that will show just how APEC can impact our world through the accomplishments of "liberalizing trade and green growth". In doing this, the head reps of APEC decided on 54 green technologies that will have import duties of 5 percent in 2015. Import duties that include equipment meant for generating power from reusable and renewable sources such as the sun, wind, waste water recycling and environmental monitoring. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, these ideas will triple export profits to $14.6 trillion, as opposed to the $5.6 trillion non-APEC countries will move to. In addition to this, APEC will take-on "content requiremnets" to import restrictions for impediments to trade, thus creating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (new free trade deal from Washington). The TPP will be meeting next week to expand on the multilateral free-trade deal that was submitted two years ago. With this, they're working to iron out a lot of problems that could potentially better the environment and especially our globalization and economy problems by a validated amount. They are " working together to create a high-standard, 21st century trade agreement that addresses a lot of problems that exporters are facing in a way that will grow jobs and create new opportunities for exporters" said Marantis.
Obviously with our nations declining economy and environmental issues, this trade deal could greatly help out with our problems, therefore helping us try to improve as a nation, but also as a group of countries. Thereby helping us to create a Free World with this new free trade system, as well as giving our nation the ability to finally go green with a lot of our technology, instead of using unnatural resources constantly, thereby destroying our earth, as well as, hopefully getting rid of the large amounts of exploitation that are destroying our economy. It's quite possible that our economy could improve if the amount of exploitation were to go down, as well as diminishing all the distortion that is destroying us as a whole. Hopefully now, we could possibly all be equal, rather than constant competition between the richer nations and the poorer nations. Not to mention, with the environmental precautions being used, we could better the state of our world. For example: the sun, we can have solar powered electronic grids, windows, technology to stop the large need for other resources killing our planet. With wind, we can create more technology, and with recycling, we can reuse what we have previously used, that way we won’t have to continue to destroy resources for use. Overall, this free trade agreement can do more than just help the environment, but it can also go towards the help of our globalization and economy problems, therefore helping us in the long run with our countries as a whole.
This topic as a whole has really taken on an argument with many different officials, however, because some think that it would worsen our economy as it stands, rather than continue to help replenish it. People such as the U.S umbrella group, Citizens Trade Campaign, believe that the TPP possesses the power to result in the loss of American Jobs mainly because China, the worlds second largest economy, isn't a part of the plan. In addition to China, Russia also isn't a part of the plan because they fear they aren't "ready to join" the large partnership. They want to, however, better the economic gwoth without endangering the enviroment. So, what reason do they have for not joining if that is the main reason the TPP is organizing all these ideas in the first place?
The ideas of the TPP and the APEC are great ideas. They could truly be a large benefit in the restoration of our world and of our worlds spiraling economy. If they truly do what they say they are going to do by using the economic resources for good, their benefit will truly be one that could start something bigger. 




http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/08/business/energy-environment/asia-pacific-forum-to-cut-import-duties-for-green-technologies.html





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