Posted on 01/19/2005 9:49:16 AM PST by Red Badger
TSUNAMI-struck Thailand has been told by the European Commission that it must buy six A380 Airbus aircraft if it wants to escape the tariffs against its fishing industry.
While millions of Europeans are sending aid to Thailand to help its recovery, trade authorities in Brussels are demanding that Thai Airlines, its national carrier, pays £1.3 billion to buy its double-decker aircraft.
The demand will come as a deep embarrassment to Peter Mandelson, the trade commissioner, whose officials started the negotiation before the disaster struck Thailand - killing tens of thousands of people and damaging its economy.
While aid workers from across Europe are helping to rebuild Thai livelihoods, trade officials in Brussels are concluding a jets-for-prawns deal, which they had hoped to announce next month.
As the world’s largest producer of prawns, Thailand has become so efficient that its wares are half the price of those caught by Norway, the main producer of prawns for the EU.
To ensure the Thais cannot compete, EU officials five years ago removed its shrimp industry from the EU’s generalised system of preferential tariffs - designed to share Western wealth with developing countries by trade.
The EU has instead slapped a tariff of 12 per cent on its fish - three times that imposed on prawns from Malaysia, its neighbour. This is still less than the US tariff on Thai prawns: 97 per cent.
The prawn tax is one in a series of protectionist measures expected to cost east Asia some £130 million each year - money being taken from its economies while EU citizens donate millions in charity.
Five days after the tsunami struck, the EU legislated against Thailand by slapping a new tariff designed to extinguish its booming trade in cumarin, a plant extract used in perfume.
On 31 December, the EU imposed duties of €3,480 (£2,430) a tonne for Thai exports of cumarin - a move entirely designed to protect Rhodia, a French chemicals firm and the EU’s only producer of cumarin.
Oxfam has attacked the tariffs, saying: "When countries are lying prostrate before us, it is criminal to continue to tax them on what they sell."
Sri Lanka has already pleaded to be exempt from EU and US textiles tariffs as it tries to recover.
very punny.
Forget "or face American tariffs". Just threaten to cease all aid to them.
At what point does the EU become a single state member of the UN so they only get ONE vote instead of thirty or so...we only get one vote, and the EU is touting itself as a single entity. What gives?
Move along. This is nothing more than your typical jets-for-prawns scandal.
So, we are all prawns of the government..........
You know, they could always buy these planes, and then use them to ship Prowns at reduced prices to Europe.
Nothing like a Little EU Extortion to make a market for a Monstrosity like this plane is.
This does not suprise me a bit, as this is the EU's MO on many things. Threaten them until they buy their airbus's.
The EU needs to give up their seats in the UN and agree to one vote or else give us 50 Votes, one for each of OUR STATES.
"So, we are all prawns of the government.........."
Sadly, it is true. Prawns, and other tasty seafood....
sigh....
"You know, they could always buy these planes, and then use them to ship Prowns at reduced prices to Europe."
Or they could pay for the planes with prawns!
***The EU needs to give up their seats in the UN and agree to one vote or else give us 50 Votes, one for each of OUR STATES. ***
Ohhhhhhh, GOOD thinking.
That's the story of my life......First I flounder then I lobster.....
That was an A-320.
Such uninformed hatred at Airbus, they make good airplanes, the 318,319,320, 330 and 340 are great, economical and safe.
There is room for Airbus and Boeing in this world!
As for the A300, not my favorite, but the only ones flying are the -600 which are much much better than the older ones.
Guess what? We are pulling some of the same crap on Thailand and its shrimpers by subsidizing our shrimp fishermen and putting tarrifs on Thai and Viet shrimp.
http://www.reason.com/links/links012005.shtml
I thought I read somewhere that China's Aquaculture farms would put all of the above out of commission, Thai, Viet, USA.....
Well, the days of shrimp boats going out all night will be over soon, we have a shrimp farm in Arizona, they have them in Sonora, Mexico, and there are lots of them in Vietnam and Thailand. They figured out how to do it right and quick, much more cost effective and easy to produce. They taste fine, there has been a shrimp farm on Oahu for about 20 years near the Turtle Bay Resort and BYU, you can get live shrimp boiled up for cocktail and etc, fantastic taste. The Thai prawns are huge and good, the mantis shrimp is almost frightening to look at, but tasty!
Why can't we do this with LOBSTER? I mean, if shrimp are profitable, the LOBSTER would be a literal DIAMOND MINE!......
Someday, I know that Maine lobster need cold water, the pacific lobster as well, but I think they are more prone to disease. Have you ever eaten farm raised tilapia or catfish? Damn good fish and cheap to produce.
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