Friday, October 06, 2006
Shoe Wars
The shoe manufacturing industry died in the US decades ago. It all went
overseas, primarily to China. During a couple of college summers, I worked for
a leather importer. In essence they were purchasing agents, basically middle
men. I would see the order sheets and be stunned as to the sheer volume of hides
headed over to China for sneaker manufacturers. The domestic use paled a
thousandfold in comparison.
Well, Italy isn't giving up without a fight. They've managed to convince the EU
to extend tariffs
on shoes made in China and, to a lesser extent, Vietnam. Italy is complaining
that these two countries are flooding the market with shoes at below market
prices. And it isn't just because of the insanely low wages that the workers are
receiving over there. There are accusations of government subsidies. It's a
plausible accusation. The Chinese government owns a piece of just about every
single business that operates within its borders.
China has threatened
retaliation. Whatever. What market hasn't China tried this angle of attack
in? In a couple years when Chinese cars start flooding the US market, expect
more of the same. It's probably a good time to start
learning
Mandarin.
\_/
DED
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About Me
Name: DED
Location: United States
I'm a stay-at-home Dad who survived dotcom burnout and a
chemical engineering career that fizzled. While the kids are in school,
I'm free to write stories.
I'm a rational environmentalist, science and technology enthusiast, who leans
libertarian, reads and watches sci-fi, drinks and brews beer, and listens to
metal.
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