Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ubc-cs.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utcsri!ubc-vision!ubc-cs!ludemann
From: ludemann@ubc-cs.UUCP (Peter Ludemann)
Newsgroups: can.politics
Subject: Re: Free trade
Message-ID: <1240@ubc-cs.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 29-Aug-85 00:31:28 EDT
Article-I.D.: ubc-cs.1240
Posted: Thu Aug 29 00:31:28 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 30-Aug-85 06:52:55 EDT
References: <1355@utcsri.UUCP>
Reply-To: ludemann@ubc-cs.UUCP (Peter Ludemann)
Distribution: can
Organization: UBC Department of Computer Science, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Lines: 41

In article <1355@utcsri.UUCP> peterr@utcsri.UUCP (Peter Rowley) writes:
>Consider Japan.  They have had high trade barriers for a long time, to
>the detriment of the US.  Now, the barriers are coming down.  But there's
>a problem: The Japanese simply do not want to buy US durable goods.  They
>are used to thinking of them as being of inferior quality.  Perhaps there
>are other reasons also, but, for whatever reasons, they prefer to buy
>Japanese.

A small counter-point.  Having lived in Japan, I can safely say that
the Japanese *love* foreign goods - Scotch whiskey, Italian leather,
French suits, Californian wines, etc.  These often sell at ridiculously
inflated prices (I'm not sure how much is because of taxes, distribution,
advertising or profit).  Advertising often uses foreigners and 
foreign-sounding brand names.

A lot of American manufactured goods just make no sense in Japan.
They drive on the left side of the road.  They eat different food.
Their houses are designed differently.  If you think there's a wide
variety of Japanese goods available here, you should sample what's
available in Japan!  Competition is ferocious there.  Of course, there
are many tariff and non-tariff barriers to foriegn goods, often to
satisfy certain groups whose votes are necessary for the government
to stay in power (do I see a similarity with the Canadian textile
companies?).  I think the Americans are whining because they've
been beaten by superior businessmen and manufacturers and because it's
convenient to have a scapegoat.  The Americans expected the
Japanese market to adapt to them and it hasn't happened.  It's
not easy doing business in Japan and the Americans (and Canadians, too)
haven't been willing to put in the effort to learn the market - as
the Japanese *did* do over here.

The Eastern manufacturers' attitude seems to me like the whining of
the Americans.  Children have to eventually get out from behind
their mothers' skirts and walk alone in the big, bad world.  So
will Canadians.  And we *can* compete - look at the successes
of Northern Telecom, for example.
-- 
-- Peter Ludemann
	ludemann@ubc-cs.uucp (ubc-vision!ubc-cs!ludemann)
	ludemann@cs.ubc.cdn  (ludemann@cs.ubc.cdn@ubc.mailnet)
	ludemann@ubc.csnet   (ludemann%ubc.csnet@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA)