HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1986-08-20, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 1986.
" UM...HEAVrrUTYSH(XKS)SIR ?"
The International Scene
Money makes
the world come round
Give it a rest
If Brian Mulroney really wants closer relations with the U.S.
as he says, perhaps he would be wise to call off free trade
negotiations for at least six months.
The level of rhetoric on both sides is now so shrill that these
two countries supposedly trying to prove how good friends they
are, may end up in more bitter rangles than they ever were
during the “black” days of the Pierre Trudeau era.
There is, on the Canadian side, Shirley Carr, president of the
Canadian Labour Congress saying the U.S. will use free trade
talks to take over the country so it can get control of the North.
Even for most people who think free trade negotiations are a
mistake, this argument is a bit much to swallow.
Oh there is no doubt that there are Americans still infected
with that old ‘ ‘ Manifest Destiny” bug that makes them feel that
it is God’s plan for the United States to bring enlightment to the
vast area north of the 49th parallel. The United States is large
enough that there is no doubt a considerable number of kooks
who would even argue the U.S. should invade Canada.
But if there’s one thing the free trade talks have shown so far
isthattheU.S. is afarfrom united country behind any idea. Mr.
Mulroney was counting on the most popular president in U.S.
history, Ronald Reagan, to get free trade talks going. Mr.
Reagan is popular, he believes in free trade, therefore the U.S.
people would want free trade.
Well, Mr. Reagan may be popular but it doesn’t mean the
American people are buying what he has to sell. Protectionism
is rampant south of the border despite a free trade President.
The movement has even pushed Mr. Reagan into taking some
actions that are against his normal beliefs, from subsidizing
wheat sales to the “evil” Soviet Union to slapping tarriffs on
Canadian shakes and shingles.
The reason, aside from being possibly good moves to
strengthen the American position at the negotiating table, is
that this is an election year in the U.S. and a lot of Republicans
face problems getting re-elected if they don’t meet with public
approval. The Democrats, usually the best friends of Canada,
have been winning support for protectionist arguments. The
Republicans are now just as busy bashing all countries that
trade with the U.S. as the Democrats in order to retain votes.
Americans are still hurting in the ego. The idea that America
has a huge trade deficit hurts more than the pocket book.
Americans must either admit that they are no longer totally
dominant in world trade, that they are not competitive with
other nations or they must conjure up schemes of unfair
competition by foreigners. Most Americans prefer the latter
course.
And so we hear increasingly strident arguments such as
these that came out of hearings on the free trade negotiations
last week where Senators worried that the odds were stacked in
Canada’s favour in the negotiations, the U.S. will get
out-bargained at the trade table. Less moderate spokesmen
have bad harsh wordsfor Canada. It all sounded like the kind of
debate that could have taken part on this side of the border with
just the names changed.
And until the election is over and the Republican senators are
comfortably back in office, we’re going to hear a lot more of it.
Canadians, sensitive as we are to any word of criticism from the
U.S., will either get angry and say harsh things back or want to
give up anything in negotiations to make the Americans like us
again.
Either way, there isn’t much to gain until the election is over.
Instead we stand to lose any chance to build a better
understanding between the two countries.
Two songs to sing
It’s fascinating to listen to the different songs one can hear
sung by businessmen depending on whether times are good or
bad. - .
Take the oil industry, for instance. Only a few weeks ago
when OPEC was in a shambles, when the world price of oil was
dropping like a stone, when oil companies were wondering
where their next billion was coming from, we heard many pleas
for ‘ ‘fairness” for the oil industry. All the industry was trying to
do, spokesmen said, was trying to make a fair profit, and keep
thousands of Canadians employed. We practically owed it to
them to help them out, perhaps even to the point of floor-prices
or subsidies.
The OPEC got its act together, even if only for a while, and the
price of oil jumped overnight. Almost as quickly the price of gas
at the pumps jumped. While the industry denied any
connection between the two events even the least cynical
Canadian isn’tbuyingthe argument. And we know by now that
if OPEC can drive the price of oil back up to the “good old days”
for the oil industry and ordinary Canadians ask for a little
fairness, we’ll then be given a lecture on the law of the
marketplace by the businessmen and told we’ll just have to pay
the price because of supply and demand.
Even Canadians who believe in free enterprise, who want to
give these guys the benefit of the doubt, are getting a little too
cynical to believe anything a public relations man for big
business says any more.
BY RAYMOND CANON
A few years back I was involved
in the sale of some manufactured
Canadian products to the Middle
East; in fact, before it was
completed, I took over most of the
negotiations and even went over
there on a business trip.
Not surprisingly the deal involv
ed some “commissions” built into
the price. If I remember correctly
the Syrians got into the act and
demanded two per cent of che
invoice price to let the goods be
truckedacrosstheircountry. Of
course this was nowhere to be seen
on the invoice; it was just
something else included in the
price.
Every once in a while there is
somebody who takes exception to
this way of doing business and I
suppose he has a point. However,
the same person thinks nothing of
leaving a tip at a restaurant and yet
this is the mildestform of a bribe as
it were and one can be excused for
asking at what point the practice
becomes too much. In addition,
just because this is not the way that
we do business in North America,
should we be too critical if they
practise it elsewhere.
At any rate let’s take a look at the
practice just to see what it is like in
reality. The first step is to examine
the words used for such activity;
the one prevalent in the Middle
East is revealing. It is “bak
sheesh” which means nothing
more than a tip so the argument is
that if you are going to tip in a
restaurant, why not extend the
practice elsewhere. It can tell you
that, whatever you think of the
practice, you are not going to do
anybusinessinthatarea unless
you are willing to tip and do it
according to a prescribed pattern. I
know that Lockheed Aircraft was
nailed a few years back for handing
out money under the table in order
to sell its aircraft but to my mind
they were unjustly accused. If they
penalized Lockheed, they should
have done it to just about every
body dealing in the Middle East.
In many Spanish speaking coun
tries, the word is more revealing. It
is “mordida” which literally
means ‘bite. ’ It does take a bite out
ofyour pocket book and you had
better be prepared to suffer. I
recall my first experience when I
was living in Spain. In order to
facilitate my travels I had sent on a
big piece of luggage to Barcelona to
be picked up later. Unfortunately
for me, when I got there it was
Sunday, the office was closed and I
was all prepared to continue on to
France the same day. It soon
became apparent from the conver
sation that, unless the usual
“mordida” was forthcoming, the
bag would stay where it was.
Needless to say, the bite took
place, we got a ladder, climbed
over the wall, retrieved my bag and
Iwasonmy way. Even at that, it
was considerably cheaper than
staying a whole extra day in Spain.
Sometimes the whole matter of
bribes gets bogged down into a
bout of haggling. I recall, too, that
after we had settled what we
consideredto be sufficient bak
sheesh, back came a request for 25
per cent instead of the agreed 15
per cent. The answer was that we
were not prepared to go above the
15 per cent so it was a question of
take it or leave it. Of course, all this
was done very politely and the
ultimate decision, to our relief, was
to take it. This brings out the point
that there is no set figure for such
payments. The general approach is
to see what the market will bear;
you can always back down some
what if it is necessary but to a
degree it depends on how strong a
bargaining position you are in to
begin with.
There is a ltitle bit of sunshine in
all this. In some countries, such as
Switzerland, all restaurant meals
have the proper tip already
calculated and are included in the
price. This takes out all the
guesswork and, while nobody will
complain if you think the service
was simply divine and leave a bit
more, it is not necessary. However,
I have yet to hear any businessman
from the pertinent areas tell me
that the tip or bribe or bite is
already in place so not to worry
about it. Business has not become
that streamlined vet.
[640523Ontario Inc.]
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Advertising and news deadline:
Monday2p.m. in Brussels;4p.m. in Blyth
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Advertising Manager: Beverley A. Brown
Production and Office Manager: Jill Roulston
Second Class Mail Registration No. 6968
So, if you ever hear the
expressions “jug of wine”, “little
envelope,” “dash,” or the like,
you can almost be certain that you
are talking with a bona fide
member of the Order of the
Outstretched Palm. I can assure
you that they are everywhere, even
behind the so-called iron curtain.
Letter to the editor
Writer supports
aid
THE EDITOR,
Until a week ago I concurred with
the sentiments expressed in the
editorial “ ‘A’ for courage”, in the
August 13 issue.
(The editorial lauded the Honor
able Ag. Minister, Riddell, for
refusing help to fruit farmers
because they had crop insurance
available to them.)
Since that time, however, I have
learned a few more facts about the
situation in the Niagara fruit belt.
Crop insurance only applies to crop
losses and not to loss of trees. The
damage done by the extraordinary
large hailstones not only destroyed
the fruits but caused extensive
damage to the trees themselves.
The wounds inflicted by this ‘Act of
God’ are such that affected trees
must be replaced. This means a
loss ofincome for the next six years
until the replacements begin pro
ducing.
This is different from the
tornado damage in the Wroxeter-
Harriston area. There, only the
crop was lost but the crop
producing capabilities remain.
Continued on page 20