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From: c60a-4fl@widow.berkeley.edu (Antony A. Courtney)
Newsgroups: misc.forsale,comp.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.att
Subject: Dram Prices...
Message-ID: <18814@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: 7 Jan 89 06:36:56 GMT
Sender: usenet@agate.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: c60a-4fl@widow.berkeley.edu (Antony A. Courtney)
Organization: University of California at Berkeley
Lines: 75

in (Article 6832 of misc.forsale) (mms%sordid@Sun.COM (Michael Silverstein))
writes:
>In article <7745@lanl.gov> jxdl@lanl.gov (Jerry DeLapp) writes:
>>*> 
>>*> Dumping is not a natural market force! It is a concerted and
>>*> focused effort involving sale of a commodity at lower than true
>>*> value for the specific purpose of eliminating competitors from the
>>*> market. In the case of RAM, there was specific support by the
>>*> Japanese government for the policy of dumping. At one point, RAMs
>>*> from Japan were selling for much less in the US than they were in
>>*> Japan!
>>*> 
>>*> It was these UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES that led to the current laws.
>>*> -- 
>
>So, the free market is fine until some one, other than ourselves, is
>the winner. At that point, selling high quality merchandise at low
>prices becomes "dumping".
>
>The price of chips in Japan is irrelevant.  A manufacturer has the
>right to sell a product for whatever price he wishes, in any location
>he chooses.
>
>The true cost of all this catering to special interests is borne by
>the rest of us, who now pay $10 for a three dollar DRAM, or $14,000
>for an "economy" car.
>
>Views expressed are my own.
>
>*-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-*-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=*
>|    /\/\ike Silverstein    | This can't be deja vous. Things are more like  |
>| sun!mms -or- mms@sun.com  |  they are now, than they've ever been before!  |
>*-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-*-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=*>

'Scuse me for saying so, but I think you are out of your mind.  

The Japanese Government was subsidizing Japanese companies to sell DRAMs way
below cost.  As such, there was no possible way that US Companies could stay
in competition with this.  The end result:  US Companies stopped making
DRAMs.

Fortunately, the US Government caught the problem in time.  It is my belief
that, once all US competition had been destroyed, the Japanese would have a
fierce grasp on the computer market as a whole.  They could just raise DRAM
prices to...mmm...say... $20 or so for US Computer Companies doing development
like Sun, and then they could sell their computers for much cheaper because
they would obviously have DRAMs at their cost.

Also, given the fact that EVERY computer uses DRAMs, including DoD computers,
etc... being at the total mercy of another country is far far too dangerous.

Now I've never been one to support Ronald Reagan, (believe me!!!!), but I do
agree with him on this policy.  And I think if we can just stick through
this, we'll be stronger for it...I certainly can barely afford a computer,
and unfortunately, the DRAM price increase ends up hurting me and others like
me.  But I honestly believe the chrisis is almost over.

In my opinion, Dumping is most definitely NOT a 'natural' market force.  It
is a slimey way to put the little guy out of business because some fat
company can afford to subsidize the loss for long enough to destroy
competition.  And then when the competition is gone the market is at their 
mercy.  And having a government backing such slimey practices makes it even
tougher for the little guy.  Fortunately the US acted on this in a
respectable, moral way.

		Antony A. Courtney
		c60a-4fl@widow.berkeley.edu




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