Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site mnetor.UUCP Path: utzoo!utcs!mnetor!fred From: fred@mnetor.UUCP (Fred Williams) Newsgroups: can.politics Subject: Re: High Duties => Increased Competitiveness? Message-ID: <2188@mnetor.UUCP> Date: Mon, 16-Sep-85 14:04:35 EDT Article-I.D.: mnetor.2188 Posted: Mon Sep 16 14:04:35 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 16-Sep-85 15:27:05 EDT References: <1394@utcsri.UUCP> Reply-To: fred@mnetor.UUCP (Fred Williams) Distribution: can Organization: Computer X (CANADA) Ltd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada Lines: 38 Summary: In article <1394@utcsri.UUCP> peterr@utcsri.UUCP (Peter Rowley) writes: >OK, you free trade buffs, here's another one for you. What's wrong >with this argument (if anything)? > >1. Japan has had high import duties for a long time. >2. Japan's industry is highly competitive in the world market. >3. Canada's duties have been lower than Japan's for a long time. >4. Canada's competitiveness is less than Japan's in the world market. > >Therefore, we should RAISE duties so our industry can become >competitive like Japan's. > I'm not satisfied that you have drawn any degree of causality between 1 & 2, (above), or 3 & 4 for that matter. Might one also say that; 1. Japanese people tend to have slanted eyes. 2. Japan's industry is highly competitive... 3. Canadians, (for the most part), have "rounder" eyes. 4. Canada's competitiveness is less... Therefore if Canadians all get plastic surgery to make their eyes slanted our industry will be better.(:-)> With due apologies to any Japanese, no offence is intended by the above false reasoning! The point is that correlation between two phenomena does not necessarily imply causality. There has to be more to it. For my two cents worth, I think higher trade barriers at this time would be bad for us. We want to take as much advantage of the inflated American dollar as possible, bearing in mind that if our dollar "strengthens" and becomes more valuable then the shoe will be on the other foot, and American goods will be cheaper. -- Cheers, Fred Williams, UUCP: {allegra, linus, ihnp4}!utzoo!mnetor!fred BELL: (416)-475-8980 ext. 318