Word: pacts
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...force if Taiwan were attacked, and as recently as 1996 the Clinton administration moved two carrier battle groups into the Taiwan Strait when Beijing appeared to be threatening a missile strike on the island. But it's never said as much, nor does it have any formal defense pact with Taiwan, precisely to avoid emboldening the Taiwanese to declare independence, which would almost certainly drive Beijing...
...output. Even then, the difference may not be enough to have any real impact. British Prime Minister Tony Blair believes that in order to put the brakes on warming a reduction of 60% may be needed. So sobering are these numbers that even nations that still support the pact have had trouble apportioning the burden, and the most recent talks, at the Hague last November, collapsed. The next meeting is scheduled for July in Bonn...
...matter how the talks turn out, the kind of bitter medicine the protocol prescribes, with the U.S. taking the biggest slug, did not go down well in Washington even before Bush arrived. In 1997 the Senate, which must ratify treaties, voted 95 to 0 that any global-warming pact that came before it must treat developed and developing countries equally. Such a repudiation is one more argument the Administration is using to pull the plug on Kyoto - though the Senate was probably driven by more than mere conscience. One of the 1997 resolution's sponsors was Democratic Senator Robert Byrd...
...likelihood that the U.S. Congress would give up such powerful weapons as its punitive anti-dumping laws and agricultural subsidies to secure a trade deal. And he was adamant that Mexico and other nations would not accept the inclusion of environmental and labor guarantees in any free-trade pact, and that they should not. These, he said, amounted to protectionism by other means, aimed at countries with lower standards of living. Even though Barshefsky believes labor and environmental agreements are politically necessary for the U.S., she agreed to the extent that these should not be used to create a "debtor...
...emissions trading, which would permit countries that exceed their required cuts to sell credits to other countries, allowing them to fall short of their own. The U.S. has not said it won't attend the July meeting, though things could get awkward if Washington has pulled out of the pact and sends its representatives simply for appearances. So far the White House has not shown any sign that it can be shamed back into the Kyoto fold, though when international outrage grows strong enough, it is possible that even the most intractable government can compromise...