Enviros Dissent Over Free Trade More Than What Meets The Eye

A major Washington, D.C.-based think tank can't understand why environmentalists would oppose more liberalized trade of green technology. It conveniently forgets how the Chinese have illegally dumped solar panels on the U.S. market, putting the nation's manufacturers in peril over the past few years.

The libertarian Cato Institute has a beef to make with green groups condemning the U.S. government's filing of a complaint protesting Indian trade barriers on green tech with the World Trade Organization.

If environmentalists, Cato argues, care so much about stopping environmental degradation brought about by economic growth shouldn't they support freer trade in environmentally friendly products?

Not when we're dealing with countries -- such as China -- that have no respect for the environment to begin with and then illegally flood the U.S. market with underpriced product, putting American manufacturers subject to environmental regulation out of business.

Theoretically, Cato's argument makes some sense. But in the real world, it fails.

Read all about it: http://bit.ly/XY5uwl.