"Trade" and foreign aid.(INSIDER REPORT)

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) describes its mission as "advanc[ing] economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries" through the "strategic use of foreign assistance funds"--that is, foreign aid. The agency issues grants for the supposed purpose of encouraging "sound investment policy and decision-making in host countries ... [to create] an enabling environment for trade, investment and sustainable economic development."

Paring away the stilted bureaucratese reveals that the agency is devoted to using U.S. taxpayer dollars to build the economies and manufacturing infrastructure of our economic competitors--particularly Mexico and China.

Mexico was the recipient of the agency's 2004 "Country of the Year"

award, in recognition of "promising partnerships ... during the past year in advancing the goals of the Partnership for Prosperity" (PfP). Through the PfP, established by President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox in 2001, USTDA and other U.S. foreign aid agencies are pouring millions of dollars into Mexico for "housing, infrastructure, transportation, environmental remediation, development financing and information technologies." The program's announced ...