Clark’s ‘guns for butter’ deal morally wrong, says ARENA and GATT Watchdog

"Helen Clark’s admission that US references to possible free trade negotiations with New Zealand are linked to her support for the US-led war against Iraq exposes the bankruptcy and immorality of this government and its trade policy," says Leigh Cookson on behalf of the Action, Research and Education Network of Aotearoa (ARENA) and GATT Watchdog.

"Denials that they were prepared to trade guns for butter always had a hollow ring. Now that pretence has been dropped. Helen Clark is prepared to make New Zealand another American lapdog, following in the wake of Tony Blair in Britain and John Howard in Australia.

"The US-led war against Iraq is unconscionable. So is the US-led free-trade agenda, whether it’s at the World Trade Organisation or through bilateral agreements. New Zealanders need to understand that US imperialism at the military level and by dominating the world’s economy are flip sides of the same coin.

"It is vital for New Zealanders to say no now," Cookson asserts. "Once Labour has committed us to yet another war, there will be no easy escape. And once it has locked us further into the US-dominated global economy, we will be even more vulnerable to US demands to play their game their way."

© Scoop Media