Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site dciem.UUCP
Path: utzoo!dciem!mmt
From: mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor)
Newsgroups: can.politics
Subject: Re: Eastern Myopia (steel prices)
Message-ID: <1284@dciem.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 17-Dec-84 13:13:53 EST
Article-I.D.: dciem.1284
Posted: Mon Dec 17 13:13:53 1984
Date-Received: Mon, 17-Dec-84 14:34:24 EST
References: <854@ubc-cs.UUCP> <653@watcgl.UUCP> <874@ubc-cs.UUCP> <10346@watmath.UUCP> 
Reply-To: mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor)
Organization: D.C.I.E.M., Toronto, Canada
Lines: 30
Summary: 


>Supporting total free trade I can think of lots of things that were given
>up; the extra money to by the more expensive product, non-Canadian steel,
>freedom of choice and maybe even jobs. How many construction projects would
>have proceed if the materials had been cheaper? The artificially high price
>of Canadian steel affects the industries concerned with the manufacture of 
>tractors, farm machinery and cars and makes them more uncompetitive then
>they need be. Notice how all these sectors of the economy also have quotas and 
>tariffs placed on the foreign competition. How can these industries compete
>effectively in the real world if they are handcuffed right off the start 
>by having to use a raw materials that are over priced?
> 
>  Donald Acton 

If Canadian steel is so overpriced, why do the Americans have to resort
to various mechanisms to prevent it competing with their steel?  Canada
sometimes gets exemption for steel on the grounds that the Canadian
steel industry is fair in pricing, but even that doesn't prevent the
introduction of US regulations like requiring imported steel pipe to be
engraved (or impressed) with the country of origin. (This dramatically
increases the susceptibility of the pipe to corrosion, and effectively
prohibits its use).

Without knowing any of the figures, these US reactions make me sceptical
about the allegedly high price of Canadian steel.
-- 

Martin Taylor
{allegra,linus,ihnp4,floyd,ubc-vision}!utzoo!dciem!mmt
{uw-beaver,qucis,watmath}!utcsrgv!dciem!mmt