WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT THE WTO
This A.P. report says that the WTO's ruling against U.S. tariffs "is squeezing the White House between political and economic interests as President Bush weighs the sanctions' fate -- and his reelection prospects." Actually, what the WTO ruling does is tip the domestic political balance against protectionism. Its threat of retaliatory tariffs gives the steel-consuming industries potential allies in other industries. And, most important, it gives the Bush administration Big Bad Foreigners to blame for forcing it to do what it knows is right.