aglew@ccvaxa.UUCP (03/10/86)
A proposal: provide an obligatory X% duty on all goods from all foreign countries. Provide exemption from this duty only to countries that qualify as "democratic" or "liberal". Ie. don't let non-democratic allies like South Korea get this most-favoured-nation status -- and certainly don't let the USSR obtain it. Conversely, make it possible for non-allied democratic countries to obtain this exemption (like Sweden during the Vietnam era). This certainly wouldn't solve your trade problems, since Japan is a democracy, but it would provide an immediate economic incentive to democracy. Sure, it could esaily be gotten around by shipping from a non-exempt to an exempt country, but then you've given the exempt country a boost, and the non-exempt country will have to pay something to the middleman.
silber@uiucdcs.CS.UIUC.EDU (03/11/86)
>This certainly wouldn't solve your trade problems, since Japan is a democracy, >but it would provide an immediate economic incentive to democracy. Somehow, I don't think that very many countries will suddenly decide to hold democratic elections just because of some tariff.