U.S. should know its limits

Since becoming the sole and unchallenged super-power following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States has won its way considerably into the various international multilateral forums.

Recently, it pushed for anti-terrorism cooperation measures among major developed countries. At the same time, it is working hard for the global liberalization of the service sector.

Nevertheless, signs have appeared that the U.S. is prepared only to take and not give -- and this is coupled with a growing tendency to go beyond the norm of international rules.

These range from unilateral decisions, whether economic or political, that are taken by the U.S. Congress, and which the White House has tried to spoonfeed to other nations, to the unreasonable unwillingness to pay its debts to the United Nations.

But most of the controversy has been generated in the economic arena. The U.S. has been locked in a dispute with the European Union over the U.S. Helms-Burton Act that allows private legal action against foreign companies doing business in Cuba.

Congress is also contemplating the implementation of sanctions against companies investing in Iran and Libya. Such initiatives are not just unilateral they could be a violation of the World Trade Organization's rules and code of conduct.

The U.S. remains as the world's most impatient nation. It must avoid being tempted to reinvent itself constantly as a nation. It must also stop trying to globalize the world to fit its needs. More importantly, it must understand that the rest of the world has second thoughts on too many changes taking place at a very rapid pace.

Cultures and traditions have an intrinsic place in society despite the 'conveniences' that McDonald's and Microsoft can possibly bring.

-- The Nation, Bangkok