Guess this could help balance of trade problems(do you have 6-12 month's supply of repair parts for every imported item you own?):
Survey: Only 15 percent of nations fixing Y2K
By Ashley Dunn
Los Angeles Times
A World Bank survey published in January found that of 139 developing nations, only 15 percent were taking concrete steps toward fixing the Y2K computer problem. Nearly a quarter were aware of the problem but were doing nothing.
Many of those that have begun work have started so late that there are questions whether they have the time to finish. The Kenyan government, for example, established a Y2K steering committee only last October, acceding to pressure from the private sector. The committee is expected to present its final findings in April 2000 — four months after the New Year.
The highly industrialized nations of North America, Europe and East Asia have moved much faster to repair their vulnerable systems, but they are also far more dependent on technology and thus more at risk if there are failures.
The United States is by far the most prepared nation for the Year 2000, according to a survey released in March of nearly 15,000 companies in 87 countries conducted by the GartnerGroup, an information technology consulting company.
Canada, The Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom are not far behind in their repairs and will probably face only isolated and minor failures due to the millennium bug, according to the GartnerGroup survey.
Mexico, the United States' third-largest trading partner, is also considered well advanced in its repair work, according to the survey. The government, which controls the crucial energy and oil industries, is expecting to complete its work this month.
But for every country that has advanced on its efforts, there are many more that seem to be dragging their feet. Japan, for example, is considered to be lagging in its Y2K repairs and could face a variety of disruptions to government services and trade infrastructure, such as harbors and airports, according to GartnerGroup.
John Koskinen, chairman of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, said in an April report: "It now appears that a number of countries will experience Y2K failures in key infrastructures such as electric power, telecommunications, and transportation."
Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, which provide about a third of all imported oil to the United States, are 12 to 18 months behind the United States and are at risk of moderate power blackouts, telephone disruptions, government service failures and air transport delays.
China — the United States' fourth-largest trading partner — is considered so far behind that there is little hope of its avoiding serious problems.
The country's Y2K czar, Zhang Qi, ominously noted recently that the country's electric power network has the furthest to go of all agencies in repairing the glitch.
June 6, 1999
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