Re: WTO and OPEC

[Greg Nowell <GN842@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Maybe in modern history.  I haven't really checked to see how
long some of the old "trading companies" lasted with their
state-sponsored exclusive rights to trade in x, y, z
commodities.  -gn.

"J. Barkley Rosser, Jr." wrote:

>      The most successful and longest running cartel
> in the world has been the diamond cartel.
> Barkley Rosser
> -----Original Message-----
> From: renatopompeu <renatopompeu@xxxxxxxxxx>
> To: POST-KEYNESIAN THOUGHT <pkt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: Wednesday, March 08, 2000 7:18 PM
> Subject: Re: WTO and OPEC
>
> >> At 04:06 PM 03/07/2000 , Henry wrote:
> >>
> >> >I should have written that OPEC came into existence as
> >an effective cartel in
> >> >1973.  I remember being in New York in 1973 where
> >several diplomat
> >> >acqaintances
> >> >of mine from the Southern Hemisphere were very excited
> >about the new OPEC and
> >> >thought that coffee, banana and other commodities
> >cartels can be patterned
> >> >after
> >> >OPEC.
> >>
> >>
> >> But of course there were other commodity cartels at
> >that time (usually
> >> sponsored by producing country governments), e.g., the
> >tin cartel, the
> >> cocoa cartel, etc.
> >
> >As a matter of fact, what you are calling the coffee
> >cartel was never patterned after OPEC or any producers'
> >cartel. The International Coffee Agreement (I am
> >translating from its name in Portuguese, I do not know
> >the official name in English) involved not only producing
> >countries, but also consumer countries. It established
> >quotas and prices for production, exports and imports.
> >As for the oil prices and the bubble in Wall Street, I
> >just have no idea of what will happen. I just hope these
> >problems and others of the same huge size do not
> >degenerate in a concentrated planetary war, for there is
> >in the horizon no hope to stop the already ongoing
> >protracted and segmented war between Otan and the axis
> >Russia-China.
> >Renato Pompeu
> >
> >
> >
> >______________________________________________
> >Coloque o BOL entre os Top 3 do iBest!
> >É só até terça - Vote já
> >http://www.bol.com.br/ibest.html
> >
> >
> >

--
Gregory P. Nowell
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science, Milne 100
State University of New York
135 Western Ave.
Albany, New York 12222

Fax 518-442-5298