Over at StoptheDrugWar.org, Scott Morgan quotes from the Seattle Times:
The [U.S. asparagus] industry has been decimated by a U.S. drug policy designed to encourage Peruvian coca-leaf growers to switch to asparagus. Passed in 1990 and since renewed, the Andean Trade Preferences and Drugs Eradication Act permits certain products from Peru and Colombia, including asparagus, to be imported to the United States tariff-free.
To which Morgan responds:
This is what we’re trying to tell you about the U.S. war on drugs. The people running this thing will screw over American farmers while pretending to protect our nation’s interests.
The drug warriors have been screwing over everyone else for decades, it’s about time they did it to someone who deserves it, and protectionist farmers certainly deserve it. They’ve been screwing us consumers for a long, long time.
In a way, this is like having the school bully who always takes your lunch money getting beat up by the school bully who likes to shove your head in the toilet.
Elsewhere Morgan says:
Notwithstanding divergent views on free trade among our readership, I’m sure we can all agree that tariffs shouldn’t be arbitrarily lifted in support of a failed drug war policy in Peru. Any success achieved in South America (there hasn’t been any, but bear with me) must be measured against the sacrifices American farmers are forced against their will to make.
Yes, this is a foolish way to make trade policy, but American farmers aren’t being forced to do anything. For years, American consumers wanting to buy asparagus from non-Americans have been forced to pay extra money to do so. Now, thanks to the War on Drugs, Americans are free to buy asparagus from Peru if they want to.
Besides, reducing the retail price of asparagus my be the single greatest accomplishment of the War on Drugs.
Thanks, Mark.
I’ve subsequently updated my post to clarify that I’m not saying American farmers are necessarily entitled to protections in the first place.
Rather, my position is that drug war politics should rarely, if ever, be used as a justification to waive policies otherwise deemed appropriate by Congress.