Maus, I read some of the very misguided (or at a minimum: trolling) comments to that and a few related stories on that website and am left in little doubt as to just how force fed the US public is about how the "big bad rest of the world" is out to get them. There is one person in particular who holds the belief that Australia (who this person classifies as SE Asia) still posseses a 22% import tariff on all inbound vehicles and that our vehicles do not comply with the US SAE weights and measures system so, in his mind, their capacities (towing/carting etc) are being well overstated. I wonder if he understands that the US is one of only a handful of countries that are yet to go metric - unlike the rest of the world, therefore preventing a true global standard of weights and measures? From the outside most obviously not, or at least that is what can be gleaned from his/her misguided ramblings...
It would not surprise me one bit if this US "Chicken Tax" has some basis of truth in it, especially when viewed in context of other export industries trying to either gain a foothold in or regain lost ground in the US after the supposed FTA pineapple we ended-up with along with our dollar being so high for so long due in no small part to some good government policies (I really struggle to say that sometimes but credit does need to go where it is due) and to a very large amount of luck. Goes hand in hand with US government policy of replacing import tariffs with home grown producer subsidies (different way of producing the same effect of a tariff) - a point most obviously lost on their "TTAC Commentators".
The strength of our ecconomy and the (lack of) barriers to imports is one reason we have seen such a flood of imported vehicles and that one of own vehicle manufacturers is now pulling up stumps as they cannot compete. Some might cynically suggest that a FTA really only drops the undies of local producers for what comes next...
I'm not that myopic to miss the significance of our own government handing out $$$ in support of our own car companies or our own standard of living structure either. The big worry in this area to our own jobs is the emerging industrial powerhouse of China (and related industries of the region).
Free Trade - Global Ecconomy - Yeah Right.... Global ecconomy will only work for ALL concerned if we are all trading in and using domestically one currency only.
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