----- Original Message ----- From: "Russell Chapman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Brin-L" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2002 4:34 PM Subject: Re: Steel tariffs
> malamute wrote: > > >I think a country's overall steel production should closely match what their > >needs are. > > > As a country with huge reserves of iron ore and coal, and precious > little manufacturing base, you can imagine we are quite keen to produce > more steel than we can use - exporting steel is one of the things we do, > just like oil from Arabia, gold from South Africa, or coffee from > Brazil. It's not like it's an accident and we are dumping the excess. I don't think you want to say "dump", Russell. I think if you are efficient at producing steel and sell the steel cheaper than US plants can, and sell it at a profit that's well and good. If you "dump" steel (i.e. sell overseas under costs with government subsidies underwriting the sale), then I'd have a problem. I think you are doing the former, not the latter. I think that the advantages of free trade are subtle and long term and the disadvantages are apparent and immediate. But, I agree with other posters that we cannot pick and choose "good" parts of the economy to subsidize. I've stated several times, that the oil patch has seen enormous downturns (with factor of 3 drops in price). I've been through a 50%, 80%, and 50% layoff (being laid off myself in the third layoff). The way that some layoffs are acceptable and others are not has a lot more to do with perception than reality, I think. > US restrictions aren't the ones people remember (Japan rates pretty > highly!), the situation in this case is that the US (and Dubya in > particular) is seen as a proponent of free trade. It's not the tariff, > it's the statement that America wants everyone to open up free trade, > and by the way, we're gonna hit you with a tariff on imports. > If Europe had done this, we would all just roll our eyes and say > "typical, there they go again", but from the US it goes against what > you've been preaching. I think that is a very reasonable criticism of GWB. Its like the difference between a catching a Baptist minister and Howard Stern drunk and in bed with a woman they met that night. Dan M.
