Treaty talk: France and globalisation
Some people in Ireland might have raised their eyes when France laboured to change the phrase "undistorted competition" in the text the European treaty. The French president was merely playing to the home gallery.
Nevertheless, his engagement on the issue underscores the importance of the globalisation debate in France. Despite its leadership in many high value areas, such as construction and financial services, or high-end nuclear power technology, France is struggling to adjust to the, sometimes harsh, realities of globalisation. Consequently the French electorate are very wary about where all this globalisation is leading.
Ireland has been fortunate that, so far, the global winds have been blowing in the right direction, but we would do well to start asking some of the questions that have been troubling the French for some time. How will competition from India or China affect our industrial base? For how long will our fiscal regime remain attractive when Eastern European countries offer even lower taxes? Given that our business cycle is out of sync with Europe's, how will we cope with higher interest rates over which we have absolutely no control? What will WTO deals mean for Irish farmers? How can we acquire a supply of energy that is less dependent on what happens thousands of miles away? What is the best immigration policy for Ireland, and is it practicable if Britain or Europe takes a different approach? Indeed France is not the only place where globalisation is posing difficult questions. Data from the US suggest that while globalisation has bolstered growth in its overall GDP, the average worker hasn't really benefited. If a factory packs up in South Dakota and moves to Mexico, the US owners of the factory gain, but the US workers obviously loose. Where a factory remains, the threat of off shoring often keeps downward pressure on wages. The implications for equality are clear. In short, globalisation has many faces and we in Ireland have not yet seen them all.