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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: axial who wrote (12346)	12/2/2001 3:16:14 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

If the United States now intends to simultaneously abandon NAFTA, and gain control of our energy resources, then we have a serious problem. Jim... What interest is there for Canadians to incur the additional cost of selling overseas? I hardly believe the US is trying "control" Canadian energy exports. And I certainly don't believe we're talking about a US invasion of Canada. What IS apparent is that in exchange for gaining overall access to US markets (which was not reciprocal as stated by the author who stated that cars sold in Canada had to be manufactured there), we're seeking assurances that Canadian energy producers would not take advantage of energy shortages to withhold their shipments should US industry opt to depend upon Canadian energy rather than other sources (like Saudi Arabia). NAFTA is hardly dead. But I believe the US wants to force Canada to undertake the fundamental economic restructuring that will strip away those governmental regulations that impede US access to Canadian markets, including subsidization of key industries. There's a distinct reason that a Canadian dollar is only worth 60% of a US greenback. But logically speaking, there shouldn't be ANY DIFFERENCE, since most people would not be able to distinguish the difference betweeen Canadians and Americans, given the ethnic diversity in both nations. From the US perspective, maintaining such a weak Canadian dollar by not following through on the necessary restructuring required to encourage money to seek Canadian returns on investment, is protectionist. It creates an systemic subsidization of the economy in much the same way that exists in Europe, and to a greater extent, Japan. And that creates a society more focused upon exporting, than importing, since due to currency differences, foreign goods cost more. Were I Canadian, I was be embarrassed that the "loonie" trades, not only at a discount to the dollar, but even the Euro. Hawk