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EU and Japan create world's biggest free trade zone

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Re: EU and Japan create world's biggest free trade zone

#341

Post by jayalpha »

zeroname wrote: post #209
drak0n1c wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For those interested in why - Japan always had very high tariffs on cheese (40% on WTO, 37.5% on EU). In comparison, the US has a general tariff of 10% on cheese, with many exceptions making it 0%. http://www.customs.go.jp/english/tariff/2019_2/data/e_04.htm https://hts.usitc.gov/?query=cheese Similarly high tariffs across the board on most imports has been the norm in Japan for decades, with many agricultural produc…

> Free trade is great when applied evenly. Free trade is great even when applied unevenly.

"Free trade is great even when applied unevenly."

Is it?

Lets assume a real FTA with the EU and Mercosul. Result? EU agriculture will nearly collapse, and Brasilian industry will nearly collapse. Sure, prices of electronics, cars and consumer goods will be lower in Brazil and food prices will be lower in the EU.

Trade barriers helped countries like Brazil, Korea, Japan and likely China to build up their own industries before agreeing to FTA. I am in favor of FTA but I am not sure that they are a solution to every problem.

Re: EU and Japan create world's biggest free trade zone

#342

Post by jayalpha »

Barrin92 wrote: post #232
zeroname wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Free trade is great when applied evenly. Free trade is great even when applied unevenly.

Surprised this was being downvoted because it is true. If countries engage in protectionism unilaterally, they are predominantly harming their own consumers and undermining competition of their own businesses. As Friedman used to point out, if Japan wants to subsidize its steel at the cost of their own taxpayers, just take the cheap steel and be thankful for it.

"Surprised this was being downvoted because it is true. If countries engage in protectionism unilaterally, they are predominantly harming their own consumers and undermining competition of their own businesses."

This worked quite well for countries building up their own industries (Brazil, Korea, Japan, possible China).

"As Friedman used to point out, if Japan wants to subsidize its steel at the cost of their own taxpayers, just take the cheap steel and be thankful for it."

It becomes a problem if a country like China with state capitalism uses this to systematically destroy other industries.

Re: EU and Japan create world's biggest free trade zone

#343

Post by jayalpha »

siruncledrew wrote: post #182
hkmurakami wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still remember how horridly expensive cheese was in Japan. This is excellent news.

That's pretty interesting, is it expensive for all types of cheese from like kraft singles to french brie? Do you have any other stories of common EU/US items that are rare in Japan?

Most western food is likely more expensive. I can speak only for China.

- Cheese. Good Cheese is expensive.

- Milk is expensive

- Floss and mouth wash was uncommon and expensive until recently.

- dentures cleaners were super expensive (I use them for a retainer)

- Wine is expensive. Both, western and Chinese

Re: EU and Japan create world's biggest free trade zone

#345

Post by superpermutat0r »

nradov wrote: post #312
superpermutat0r wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you genetically modify animals to have a stronger immune system there's going to be a natural pressure for stronger bacteria. Just like giving animals antibiotics to spur their growth is riskier than not.

Animals have been genetically modifying themselves to have stronger immune systems for millions of years. Are you proposing to halt evolution through natural selection?

I am not. I am saying that evolution is time tested on a huge scale, GMO can never be.

By using GMOs one is definitely going to get black swans.

Re: EU and Japan create world's biggest free trade zone

#346

Post by jayalpha »

matt4077 wrote: post #307
repolfx wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it wasn't. The EU is not insisting that parts of Canada obey EU law automatically and are effectively different countries as a result, which is what it's currently demanding of the UK. Nor did the EU demand tends of billions of euros from Canada in return for nothing in particular. The EU has actually never been willing to discuss trade deals with the UK, let alone "let's be like Canada". So far it's refused enti…

The billions are not arbitrary, but to settle obligations arising from the UKs past membership, such as pensions for their EU personell. You obviously know that and are pretending to be ignorant, considering it was all over the news at the times.

"The billions are not arbitrary, but to settle obligations arising from the UKs past membership, such as pensions for their EU personell."

No UK monkey was ever able to understand this. "Just walking away will make this obligations disappear". And "paying them is the fee that we get all the EU rights with no obligations".

Re: EU and Japan create world's biggest free trade zone

#347

Post by ascar »

rsync wrote: post #332
ascar wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sushi goes very well with cream cheese added as part of the filling, e.g. Philadelphia roll. Pork Donburi with grated cheese on top, maybe Gauda, would be a great fit. Also possible for a Yakiniku bento. You could also use a cheese dip for Yakitori. That's basically also the dishes I eat most of the time. God, I'm getting homesick again. Food is such an essential part of feeling home and you only realize this once it…

"Sushi goes very well with cream cheese added as part of the filling, e.g. Philadelphia roll." Your parent was talking about japanese food so this is a bit of a non-sequitur ...

I'm aware that this kind of sushi roll isn't traditionally Japanese. But GP was talking about which Japanese food might go well with cheese. Sushi with cream cheese is a battle tested example from the west.

Re: EU and Japan create world's biggest free trade zone

#348

Post by ascar »

jeromegv wrote: post #284
ascar wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's probably only France, where cheese after meals is common. While it's frequently used as a topping in Italian cousine, it's nearly exclusively eaten on top of slices of (dark) bread as a standalone dish in German cousine (though Germans eat a lot of Italian food). The most American use of cheese (i.e. not Italian cousine related) is maybe the cheese flavored corn-snacks (e.g. cheetos).

Adding Quebec to the list of places where cheese is eaten after meals.

Isn't that probably a French tradition in Quebec, considering it's a French speaking province?

Re: EU and Japan create world's biggest free trade zone

#349

Post by kuschku »

zeroname wrote: post #323
vertex-four wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, except that reviving the competition costs money in its own right many times - it's usually not a Bitcoin miner that can be turned off when it's unprofitable and turned on again with the flick of a switch when it becomes profitable to run. So your price ends up at fair market price... when averaged over many decades, maybe, but likely not for long at any particular point in time. And in the meantime workers get…

First of all, where's the evidence of these supposed high-entry monopolies? Seems more like a thought experiment to me. Secondly, you're only looking at the negative consequences for some workers. You're not looking at the benefit to all workers, who pay lower prices as result of cheaper labor from abroad. Suppose workers had been guaranteed their jobs for life because of protectionist policies. This is called mercan…

Have you tried producing and assembling electronics in the west?

You don't have shops to buy parts anymore, you don't have assembly lines anymore, you don't have people trained in this anymore.

If China decided tomorrow to increase the costs of the electronics they export, you'd have to accept that.

Apple tried their best to move even some assembly back to the US, and couldn't even get the simplest custom screws made in the amounts they need. Only a single small company still had the tech to make them, and they couldn't produce enough, fast enough.

It's not just a single monopoly, the problem is that entire industries are gone, and it'd take decades to train workers and regain the institutional knowledge.

And this is just one example.

And your argument has one more flaw: free trade reduces costs of products, and wages. But it won't affect cost of housing (except over a timespan of decades due to cheaper labor and materials, but it still won't solve cost of land). Nor will it affect cost of utilities.

In our household, we're now spending 71% of our budget on rent and utilities. Under more protectionist policies, I might pay 20% more for products, but I'd also be making 20% more wages — and as result, I'd be better off (in fact, my disposable income after rent, utilities and food would almost triple)

Re: EU and Japan create world's biggest free trade zone

#350

Post by mantas »

dmix wrote: post #98
matt4077 wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt there are many countries with more than two or three competing networks. There may be a few more resellers, or even several dozens. But it’s just uneconomical to build the hardware five times over. In any case, a FTA is not going to change it.

So how does that explain the high cost of our networks vs other countries? I'm not convinced a regulated oligopoly is the only positive option. If anything it's only positive for: a) the private friends of government who profited when the business was kept 100% Canadian b) the intelligence agencies who were given plenty of access. Most of the ownership capital went to a small group of millionaires and billionaires. M…

I'm pretty sure that having "just" 3 networks don't explain the costs by themselves. My country has 3 networks and we have one of the lowest prices in EU.

What probably does make it expensive is big territory with little population density.

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