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From: aglew@ccvaxa.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Western Union
Message-ID: <45200004@ccvaxa>
Date: Sun, 9-Mar-86 20:28:00 EST
Article-I.D.: ccvaxa.45200004
Posted: Sun Mar  9 20:28:00 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 11-Mar-86 19:28:00 EST
Lines: 15
Nf-ID: #N:ccvaxa:45200004:000:803
Nf-From: ccvaxa.UUCP!aglew    Mar  9 19:28:00 1986


A proposal: provide an obligatory X% duty on all goods from all foreign
countries. Provide exemption from this duty only to countries that qualify
as "democratic" or "liberal". Ie. don't let non-democratic allies like
South Korea get this most-favoured-nation status -- and certainly don't
let the USSR obtain it. Conversely, make it possible for non-allied
democratic countries to obtain this exemption (like Sweden during the
Vietnam era).

This certainly wouldn't solve your trade problems, since Japan is a democracy,
but it would provide an immediate economic incentive to democracy.

Sure, it could esaily be gotten around by shipping from a non-exempt to an
exempt country, but then you've given the exempt country a boost, and the
non-exempt country will have to pay something to the middleman.