The “Free Trade” Road to Tyranny
By William Norman Grigg
The John Birch Society Bulletin, May 2001
Stop the FTAA!

Although “single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day,” warned Thomas Jefferson in 1774, “a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period, and pursued unalterably through every change of ministers, too plainly prove a deliberate and systematical plan of reducing us to slavery.” (Emphasis Added). Jefferson’s admonition about the conspiratorial designs of the British ministry toward the American colonists offers an apt framework for examining the ongoing efforts of the Insider elite to amalgamate the nations of the Western Hemisphere as a stepping-stone to an undifferentiated global tyranny.

By the time this issue of the Bulletin is available, a significant benchmark in that effort — the third Summit of the Americas in Quebec City — will have taken place. In the weeks leading up to that event, the Bush administration announced that it would seek to win support for accelerating the pace of negotiations to create a “Free Trade Area of the Americas” (FTAA). At the first Summit of the Americas in Miami in December 1994, a target date of 2005 was established for the completion of negotiations; George W. and Company seek to finish negotiations by 2003, with full implementation of the accord to begin in 2005.

Like his immediate predecessors, George W. Bush is seeking “fast track” authority from Congress, which would allow the executive branch to negotiate the trade pact without “interference” from Congress. With the help of Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) allies in congressional leadership positions — House Speaker Tom Foley, Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, and Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, Democrats all — Republican George Bush (the elder) was able to get “fast track” authority to conclude negotiations on the so-called North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Democrat Bill Clinton picked up where Bush the elder left off by presiding over the ratification of NAFTA and GATT — the latter of which he accomplished with the help of his supposed Republican nemesis (and CFR confrere), House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Clearly, the Establishment’s campaign to consolidate the hemisphere under Insider control has been (as Jefferson put it) “pursued unalterably through every change of ministers,” and with utter indifference to the party affiliations of those involved.

And make no mistake about it: The proposed FTAA, like NAFTA, GATT, and the European Union, would be another multinational building bloc of a UN-dominated world order disguised as a “free trade” arrangement. One of the clearest illustrations of this was provided during the May 1998 “World Trade Day” in Denver. The May 21st Denver Post described how the event drew hundreds of businessmen and scores of corporations — each of which was represented, UN-style, by a corporate banner — for the purpose of “promoting an increasingly seamless global market.” But the true purpose of the event, as demonstrated by the comments of then-U.S. Ambassador to the UN Bill Richardson (also CFR), was to persuade the assembled corporate representatives that the price of admission to this “seamless” market was support for an empowered UN.

As reported by the Post, Richardson’s speech included criticism of “congressional refusal to fund the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund — a global rescue unit for troubled economies. He criticized congressional refusal to renew President Clinton’s so-called fast-track authority — the power to cut trade deals without congressional intrusion....” “We’re just losing markets when we don’t engage and participate,” insisted Richardson. Of course, “engagement” as defined by Richardson and others of his globalist ilk requires that our national sovereignty be destroyed, and that American taxpayers be plundered to enrich UN-favored political and financial elites.

Richardson also protested that by refusing to renew Bill Clinton’s “fast track” prerogative, Congress had “hindered plans for a Free Trade Area of the Americas.” Clearly, the Insiders believe that with “conservative” Republican George W. Bush now occupying the Oval Office, congressional resistance will evaporate; one measure of the Insiders’ confidence can be seen in the administration’s plan to move up ratification and implementation of the FTAA.

But there is another important side to this story. Speaking at the same 1998 “World Trade Day” event in Denver, former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Lang told the assembled corporate heavyweights, “Your fellow countrymen in the Americas are not persuaded” about the merits of globalization. “People all over the world believe control over their lives is going to be exercised by forces beyond their control” — and such skeptics are undeniably correct.

JBS: The Undisputed Leader


Lang saw this spontaneous resistance to globalization as an unfortunate obstacle. We must view it as a blessing and an opportunity. The JBS has been the undisputed leader in educating the public about the true Insider agenda behind the “free trade” charade. With the publication of William F. Jasper’s blockbuster book The United Nations — Exposed (see page 6 for information on how to obtain this book, while helping to build The John Birch Society), we have a splendid new tool at our disposal. Bill Jasper’s discussion of the Insider strategy of building a UN-controlled world “bloc by bloc” will open the eyes of many of our prospects who are among the millions of people who do not want their lives to be ruled by “forces beyond their control.” If you have not yet read the abridged version of Mr. Jasper’s chapter about the construction of a world super-state that appeared in The New American of April 9th (“Global Tyranny … Bloc by Bloc”), we recommend it heartily. You will learn how and why NAFTA is set to become the “European Union” of the Western Hemisphere.

But it’s not enough merely to understand how this insidious campaign is being carried out; our prospects must be invited to join in our organized, principle-based effort to resist and defeat that campaign. This will require, in the immediate term, that we mobilize those within our circle of influence to oppose any congressional effort to extend “fast track” power to George W. Bush.


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