Following is an article written by Pepe Escobar who is often ahead of the international “news train”––this time regarding the Russia-China trade alliances which are taking place alongside the showdown in Ukraine, Crimea and Syria. I haven’t followed the jumble of trade acronyms listed below, but have come to respect Pepe’s insights and predictions.
His latest piece takes me back to the 90s and early 2000s when I urged Dick Gephardt, Newt Gingrich and other congress members, to drop the Jackson-Vanik Amendment trade restrictions regarding Russia. The rationale was simple: if Washington refused to become trade partners with Russia, her leaders would eventually be forced to seek China and other less desirable partners for trade alliances.
They didn’t heed––and the predictions have now come true. If even half of Pepe’s forecasts below materialize, we in the US will be the greatest international net losers. Nothing can be done now; it’s too late. Washington has literally forced these unintended trade agreements into being by refusing Russia’s attempts to partner.
