Political Quotes

“in past years, the United States has been a member of a number of organizations, the purpose of which has been to control markets, to increase prices and to assist industries within their countries to achieve higher revenue from their products. I certainly do not fault countries and organizations for wanting to promote their products or to achieve the top price they can. I am concerned about, though, two aspects of this practice. One, the suggestion that the way to deal in a competitive world is through a monopoly or a market allocation approach. That is not only contrary to U.S. law but contrary to our American sense of fairness. We believe prices ought to be determined by competition and by markets, not by government edict or by allocating markets. No American needs to be reminded of the fact that OPEC operated to the great disadvantage of American consumers. Tragically, the United States has cooperated with a number of these organizations that attempt to allocate markets and that attempt to boost prices for which American consumers simply get stuck with the tag. We have had some luck in trying to eliminate U.S. membership and participation in these organizations that do not serve U.S. consumer interest. The International Jute Organization is one of those that I think falls into that category. It is not a huge amount of money, but the principle involved is enormously important.”