I always thought Fair Trade would be great. If you charged 150% import duty on American cars(which Japan DID for decades), we will charge you 150% import duty on your cars. So simple, why don't they do it? I bet all of them will change the import duty on American cars instantly. I think the rate is still 50%? not sure.
The news in the paper or larger geopoloitical matters is often not the same as the people one meet on the streets or in their homes. Individuals are generally super nice, as a group with crazy leaders that's a different story. There were a couple times I was confronted by angry Germans and Brits; once an older German had too much to drink and started going after me about how the American bombed them and his family, blah blah blah. Well, you know why we bombed you? you were lucky we didn't drop the big one on you, you deserved it. It was below zero and raining, they were walking me back to my hotel, I wasn't in the mood to be nice or to go into WW2 history with him, he was retiring that week anyway. I did not compromise, it was black and white, good and evil to me. Other than that, everyone has been nice and pro-American, we rebuilt them, all of them. I will be back in Frankfurt for a week in January 03, and Tokyo in April.
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12-30-2002, 06:27 PM
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