In article <lm4q86ttxv.fsf@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>, Dragan Cvetkovic
<me@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> mcsail <mcsail@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> writes:
>
> > Today’s Ottawa Citizen (Sept 27) has another re****t
> > about the Canadian International Trade Tribunal's (CITT)
> > recommendation that the federal government impose a
> > 30% tariff on bicycles im****ted from various offshore
> > countries, including China.
>
> [snip]
>
> > "The proposed 30% surtax would be applied in
> > addition to two existing protections - a 13%
> > customs tariff that is applied to every bicycle
> > im****ted into Canada irrespective of origin
> > and special antidumping duties ranging from
> > 5-50% that have been imposed on bicycles from
> > Taiwan and China for well over a decade."
> >
>
> When I lived in Yugoslavia, we used to complain about the government
> imposing high taxes and duties on (some) im****ted goods and would say
that
> such stupidity happens only in socialist countries... How naive we were
...
>
> Bye, Dragan
Yup, stupidity is an equal op****tunity proposition: politicians of all
stripes - even those in democracies - subscribe to it also.
Too often the reponse from international producers suffering from the
Asian manufacturing juggernaut is to lobby for an increase in tariffs
or 'voluntary quotas' to protect their turf - at the expense of the
consumer, of course. That wouldn't be such a bad idea if the ploy
fostered the regeneration of the beleaguered sectors, and nurtured a
healthier, more competitive and dynamic marketplace. But it doesn't, as
those listless patients, the domestic auto and textile sectors, attest.
Consumers don't want these bicycle tariffs; from what I've read, either
do retailers. The only proponents are a few domestic manufacturers who,
hypocritically, spec' their bikes with a host of components emanating
from those same factories they deride as 'dumping' bicycles in their
markets. I'm curious: how would its champions react if the bicycle
surtax would extend to all the peripheral - and im****ted - components
they use to outfit their rides?
That Chinese/Taiwanese bicycle ex****ters benefit from a host of
economic advantages - particularly where it concerns labor costs - is a
not necessarily a bad thing; that a consumer in another country should
be denied the op****tunity of benefiting from them by legislation aimed
at profiting narrow special-interests definitely is.
Luke
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