I wrote the other day about an article in the New York Times that was critical of FATCA. One reader let me know that the article may have hinted at more going on…
In the article, it said:
Financial institutions outside the United States also say that the law’s costs will be imposed overwhelmingly on them, giving a competitive advantage to United States rivals.
This, pointed out the reader, may become an issue with the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The WTO’s regulations are rather Byzantine and often subjective anyway, but it will be interesting to see if any countries bring this up as a WTO trade issue.
Expats in Canada 
Welcome back – was beginning to wonder if you had abandoned your blog.
Keep up the good work.
Also, if you are not aware, there is now a group blog for people interested in these issues. Perhaps you would like to contribute there as well:
http://www.isaacbrocksociety.com
Thank you! It’s a busy time of year, I’m afraid, so blogging has been limited. Someone from the Isaac Brock Society contacted me recently and I’ll be cross posting a few articles over there!
The WTO is worthless. Here’s a good example:
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/cases_e/ds285_e.htm
Antigua complained to the WTO when the US outlawed internet gambling. The US just gave some concessions and Antigua could do nothing about it. The irony here is that the other day, Obama was in the news talking about making online gambling legal, except sports bettings.
The FACTA result could be similar, or could end up differently. Only time will tell. The main difference here is that the US has alienated more people/countries with the FACTA than with the gambling laws.
I don’t really expect much to come from the WTO. I just find it interesting just how many laws and agreements FATCA is breaking. The alienation of foreign governments is something the US has withstood in the past, but combine that with the economic consequences as foreign investors start to pull out? That could be bad. In the past, the US dollar has been been strong enough to buy a lot of forgiveness…
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