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US Blocking Costa Rican Sugar Trade To Force IP Laws

For the last couple of days news has been trickling in about how the US is trying to ram IP laws down Costa Rica's throat by blocking their access to the US sugar market. Techdirt has a good summary of the various commentaries and a related scoop in the Bahamas where the US is also applying IP pressure. "The first is in Costa Rica, which is included in the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Yet like with other free trade agreements that the US has agreed to elsewhere, this one includes draconian intellectual property law requirements. I still cannot understand why intellectual monopoly protectionism — the exact opposite of 'free trade' — gets included in free trade agreements. At least in Costa Rica, a lot of people started protesting these rules, pointing out that it would be harmful for the economy, for education and for healthcare. So the Costa Rican government has not moved forward with such laws. How has the US responded? It's blocking access to the US market of Costa Rican sugar until Costa Rica approves new copyright laws."

6 of 441 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Level playing field by nawitus · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    You see nothing wrong in a superpower bullying a small country through economic means? Well, that certainly sounds like an American way to do things, i.e. acting like an asshole.

  2. Re:Never Fear!!!! by Nikker · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    So if sugar is so insignificant why is the US gov trying to impeede it just to have a treaty signed? Why would the US take any of these measures when it's usually only the vilan who stoops to these actions in the Hollywood movies?

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    A loop, by its nature, continues. If that didn't make sense, start reading this sentence again.
  3. Re:Color me underwhelmed. by jakoye · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    That's right, lofoforabr. America's conduct in Latin America FULLY explains why all those Latin American terrorists attack the US. Oh wait... the terrorists that are attacking the US are *Muslim*? Huh... guess that puts your entire theory onto the trash heap, eh?

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    Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven
  4. Re:Color me underwhelmed. by jedidiah · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Muslims hated America before it was even born. They hate all of the nice complaint nations of Europe no less. They always have.

    They are still sore for the fact that they didn't get the chance to convert all of us.

    They're like any other fundies on the planet (including our own). They don't need any real injustice to justify their need to wipe us out.

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    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  5. Re:"Free" like I say by ravenshrike · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    We never lived in a true democracy shit for brains. It was a republic, but ever since the 17th amendment instituted direct election of senators the counterbalances of power have been faltering ever so slowly but surely under the pressure of greed.

  6. Re:Never Fear!!!! by phantomfive · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    This means that a person could ingest the same amounts of HFCS and sucrose, but get more energy out of the HFCS,

    Wow, this sounds like a BENEFIT to me.

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    Qxe4