Editorial.I'm not so sure I would label the International Natural Rubber Agreement an "outrage to consumers and an outrage to free enterprise" as U.S. Senator Hank Brown George Hanks "Hank" Brown (born 1940) is a former Republican politician and Senator from Colorado who is currently president of the University of Colorado system. Brown was born in Denver in 1940, and graduated from college in 1961 and from law school in 1969, both from the (RCO RCO Remote Communications Outlet RCO Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra RCO Recycling Council of Ontario (Canada) RCO Royal College of Organists (UK) RCO Rear Commodore RCO Regenerative Catalytic Oxidizer ) did, but I wouldn't call it a vehicle that stabilizes prices and assures supplies as its proponents do. Brown believes that all international commodity agreements create cartels which undermine U.S. business interests. Maybe they do. INRA INRA Institut National de la Recherché Agronomique (France; National Institute for Agronomic Research) INRA Institute for Natural Resources in Africa INRA Inland Northwest Research Alliance didn't create any cartels. There have been informal and organized "cartels" in the natural rubber trading business for decades. INRA hasn't created price stability either. A look at what happened in 1994 and 1995 should put to rest any argument that this is a function of the agreement. As for assuring supplies, I believe the meteoric me·te·or·ic adj. 1. Of, relating to, or formed by a meteoroid. 2. Of or relating to the earth's atmosphere. 3. rise in NR prices in '94 and '95, which INRA couldn't curtail even after selling off all of its buffer stock, probably would have more to do with encouraging maintaining and expanding supplies. I also feel the real value of natural rubber is slowly being recognized, negating the need for this so-called support. Natural rubber is still the optimum elastomer elastomer (ĭlăs`təmər), substance having to some extent the elastic properties of natural rubber. The term is sometimes used technically to distinguish synthetic rubbers and rubberlike plastics from natural rubber. in many applications. Plus it's green. It's a renewable resource Noun 1. renewable resource - any natural resource (as wood or solar energy) that can be replenished naturally with the passage of time natural resource, natural resources - resources (actual and potential) supplied by nature with a production process that is non-polluting. In fact, it's beneficial to the environment as the trees absorb [CO.sub.2]. The intrinsic value Intrinsic Value 1. The value of a company or an asset based on an underlying perception of the value. 2. For call options, this is the difference between the underlying stock's price and the strike price. of NR is slowly being realized. INRA was first implemented in 1979 and for most of its existence the main purpose was supply assurance. Its ineffectiveness at stabilizing prices wasn't exposed until the last couple of years. There may be some justification in continuing the pact for the supply assurance purpose since NR's competition among growers is not other elastomers but other crops that might bring a greater yield in terms of money per acre. But another factor has surfaced since the first ratification. That's the increasing movement downstream by the rubber producing countries. The top six producers, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Brazil, India and China, are now ranked in the top 12 of consuming nations. The first three are relatively new, while the latter three consume most of their countries' output. The separation between producing country and consumer is eroding. Malaysia alone plans to invest $200 million in machinery for rubber product manufacturing by the year 2000. INRA is not an outrage and hasn't undermined U.S. business interests as Sen. Brown claims. But is it really necessary? |
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