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Path: utzoo!utgpu!tmsoft!mason
From: mason@tmsoft.UUCP
Newsgroups: can.politics
Subject: Re: market crash (seems to have changed to `free trade')
Message-ID: <193@tmsoft.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 27-Oct-87 21:04:50 EST
Article-I.D.: tmsoft.193
Posted: Tue Oct 27 21:04:50 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 29-Oct-87 04:18:22 EST
References: <170@bby-bc.UUCP> <1071@looking.UUCP> <5576@utcsri.UUCP> <1078@looking.UUCP>
Reply-To: mason@tmsoft.UUCP (Dave Mason)
Followup-To: can.politics
Distribution: can
Organization: TM Software Associates, Toronto
Lines: 24

In article <1078@looking.UUCP> brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) writes:
>It was by making the most competitive goods in the *world* market that
>Japan attained success.  The assured access to US markets provided by
>post WWII treaty agreements also played a vital part.
>
>What does this suggest about the value of free access to the US market?
>
It suggests that at the end of WWII, more or less open access to the US
market (I'm taking your word for it, that's not quite the way I heard
it) helped Japan immensely.  At the time, the US market was the
largest, richest & fastest growing market in the world.  Today, it's
not clear that it is any of those 3 things.  Canada stands a
significant chance of losing substantial political and economic
autonomy with the negotiated `free trade' agreement.

Canada's best interests are served by MULTIlateral agreements to
reduce tarifs around the world (i.e. GATT), and capitalizing on our
significant good will in Britain, Europe, China, and the developing
world.  This may create some dislocation in the next 10 years, but
seems like a MUCH better long term strategy than tying ourselves more
closely to an ailing elephant and hoping that it gets better & will
toss a few tidbits our way.

	../Dave