IT'S HYPOCRISY TO CERTIFY NATIONS AS DRUG-WARRIORS

The drug-certification charade Washington plays with trade partners has
become something of an embarrassment. This time, the linkage of preferred
trade status to efforts to combat the drug trade dominated President Bill
Clinton's state visit to Mexico.

Clinton has given every sign he will recommend to Congress that Mexico be
certified as a reliable partner in the war on drugs. In turn, this will
ensure that normal trade relations will continue with Mexico, a vital
hemispheric partner that also happens to sustain an industry pumping more
than $15 billion worth of illegal drugs into the United States each year.

Linking trade relations to efforts to interdict drugs is a face-saving
exercise, paying homage to the politically expedient but intellectually
flawed notion that the key to ending the drug problem lies in restricting
supply abroad rather than reducing demand at home. It hasn't worked but it
sounds good and no one in Washington wants to end the charade for fear of
appearing soft on drugs.

However, this practice leads to absurd contradictions, if not blatant
hypocrisy. Last year, Colombia - a relatively minor trade partner that was
actually having some success in an all-out antidrug campaign - was denied
certification. But Mexico - a major trade partner showing little success in
stemming its massive drug production and transshipments - was granted
certification.

Once again, Clinton is urging that Mexico "should not be penalized" for
having had little success in combating the drug trade. To be fair, Mexico
has tried a bit harder, actually cracking down this past year on
narco-corruption within its notoriously rapacious police forces and working
more closely with U.S. antidrug agents. But essentially Mexico will get an
"A" for effort, not for results. And the charade will go on. It's time to
end it.