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Embassy of and Port of Entry to El Reino della Tilapia

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Perez frowns. "I would hope that in future, your government will attempt to find out a little bit more about what it is doing. However, that is for you to see to, and none of my affair really.

As for your suggestion, I think it shows some degree of wisdom. However, now is not really the...best...time. Perhaps once this crisis has been resolved, whoever is in the top levels of power at the time can implement it. I don't really have the power to do so here, that would require the Consulate or the Queen.

Coincidentally, I have to ask...do you think Gonzov will be impeached? From Tilapia's standpoint during the election, he looked like our best choice. Apparently, we were wrong."

Vincenzo Alejandro, having entered the office from a side door during the conversation, steps forward with a piece of paper. "Additionally, it appears he's gone mad. Per Asre, maybe you should see this. We've triple-checked, and that's his handwriting all right. Though you have experts in the FLEA who can verify that for you independently of us, so don't take my word for it." He hands Asre a letter on Presidential stationary.

To Per Alejandro,

I must say, you have been very ingenoius at keeping your disguise secret from us. No, I'm not as stupid as I seem, Eutopian Camel Spiderman, I've worked it all out. So you'll be glad to know that I'll be taking the secret to my grave, and I won't be telling SAW or anyone like that. If you think about it, it must be the only time in Eutopian History when two Superheroes actually were on the verge of shooting each other, though I'll never understand why you actually switched. Perhaps you should stop killing people and go back to saving them? Well, it doesn't matter anyhow, see you in hell.

Yours Sincerely,

Ivan the Wonderful

PS: Here's a tip: Switch webshooters.

PPS: Why a Camel Spider? Don't they just hide in the sand?

PPPS: Vincenzo? What were you thinking? Fernando would be classier.

PPPPS: Oh, we didn't kill the patrol, must have been the Seperatists.
Click to expand...

"Per Asre" Alejandro continues, shaking his head sadly "it looks like the possessor of the highest office in the land is now a threat not only to national security, but also to himself. Conspiracy theories, multiple personalities, and delusions...it may be schizophrenia, or worse."
 
An e-mail is sent to Ambassador Perez, Pro Consol Marcos, General Summers, Queen Francesca.
Reverend Dr. Woodrow Park, JD, MBA
Delegate-at-Large
Amnesty Worldwide

Your Majesty, Conulari, and Your Excellency,

The road to peace is not an easy one, but the rewards, both here on earth and hereafter make it a road worth taking. We have come across some obstacles on that road. I do not believe that President Gonzov ordered an incursion into your territory, but in any case, he will not do so again. The United Provinces of Eutopia were part of the problem, and certainly didn't seem to be part of the solution to the strife in your nation. That is why I have refused offers to succeed President Gonzov from the next largest party, because I feel the cause of peace is more important, and that in reality, the UPE has no role to play in the peace process, except to stop its unhelpful and probably illegal meddling. The candidate the Eutopian Labor Party are putting forward instead is Dr. Jonathan Glasser. It is not certain that he will suceed President Gonzov, but if he did, I am confident that you find he would respect your sovereignty and be a good neighbor. Thus, I hope that will remove the impediments to peace that any earlier lack of supervision and later impetuous and irrational actions by President Gonzov have created.

I am most concerned by the reports from the jounalist Ted Rapp that aired showing a "leave no brick on top of another" type offensive in the city of Nueva Cordoba. This is not consistent with the earlier heartening response of ceasing fixed wing air operations against the separatists to their unilateral cessation of the bombing campaign on this island. Clearly, the separatists are not innocent victims, as that same report clearly shows, but actively and openly engaged in an armed rebellion. I am sure you can succeed in destoying the city and killing or capturing all its inhabitants, but at what cost?
  • The lives of the soldiers lost in the assault
  • The bombing campaign will resume in your capital
  • The stress of being ordered to commit what appears to be genocide will scar the consciences of many of the soldiers for life, making it impossible for them to ever return to a normal life
  • Tilapia will take a place on a list of nations who have slaughtered their own citizens, like:
    • The United States and the American Indians
    • Turkey and the Armenians
    • Germany under Hitler and the Jews
    • Several Central African nations and either the Tutsi and Hutu tribes depending on the country
    • Sedan and the Southern Chirstians or the residents of Darfour
  • Possible trade sanctions from other nations
  • Possibly your immortal souls
These situations are rarely resolved by pure military might, consider the Basques in Spain or Catholics in Northern Ireland. The military option of course remains open to you later, so do you need to pursue it now? I will not predict where negotiations will lead, whether they will be successful or not, but if you, on the eve of the negotiations, shun that path, you risk getting shunned by the world and having god turn against you and your nation. I cannot summon up the plagues against your nation as Moses did against Egypt, but to act in defiance of the Lord, who said "Blessed are the Peacemakers" is folly. I beg you to return your troops on New Bengal Island to alert status, securely maintain your present positions but cease leveling the city and exterminating its inhabitants. Send a delegate or delgation to Gorse Hill in Woking, Surrey, and explore what the alternative is.

Yours in peace,
Click to expand...
 
*An invitation arrives, addressed to the ambassador. It is on official Presidential letterhead, with acompanying seal.*

"Dear sir,

The President of the United Provinces of Eutopia wishes to meet with you at your earliest convience. He is hopeful that you can have a better working relationship than his predecessor. Please feel free to call me to arrange the time."

*The rest of the letter contains contact information.*
 
It's one in the morning at the port of entry to Tilapia, and the spotlights cast harsh shadows across the fenceline. Several military trucks pull up to the Tilapian side, and a short time later several Eutopian trucks approach the border. The gate opens, and the crew of the Oceanus is marched out of Tilapia back into Eutopia. There is no ceremony, no one takes the opportunity to kiss the ground. There is a quick count, and they are herded into the trucks. Soon they are heading north, first for debriefing, then to see their families.
 
A letter arrives for the Tilapian Ambassador
Your Excellency,

I am currently serving as Finance Minister for the United Provinces of Eutopia, and as such have responsibility for the foreign commerce portfolio including customs. I have been requested by our President to meet with the member of the Consulate having the equivalent area. I would be most grateful if you could arrange such a meeting. I would like included on the agenda agricultural subsidies, pollution regulations, and export products workers rights, but would be willing to add additional topics if desired.

Respectfully.
Click to expand...
 
A note is sent to Park in response.

Reverend Park,

I have arranged a meeting for you with Pro Consul Carlos Marcos, the Queen's advisor with portfolio on Finance and Industry. If there is anything else I can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask.

Sincerely,
Jonathan Perez
Click to expand...
 
The evening before the appointed day, Woody catches a train to Buen Puerto, and has dinner on the train. On arrival he checks in to the hotel where a reservation had been made for him by the Finance Ministry and hangs up the suit he packed for the next day. He asks the hotel concierge, "I know it is a bit late for the opera, but is there a caberet, reputable night club, or jazz club you could recommend? Something where not knowing much Spanish won't be an obstacle to appreciating the entertainment? Nothing that the tabloids would make a field day of either, if you know what I mean? Somewhere I could take my mother?"

Woody tips the concierge and follows their advice. He is back at the hotel by midnight and asks for a 7 AM wake-up call. He puts his shoes outside the room to be shined along with his breakfast order (oatmeal, orange juice, tea) for 7:15 AM. The next morning he gets up, reads e-mails and the paper over breakfast, showers, shaves, dresses for his appointment, and takes a car to Pro Consul Marcos' office. After clearing security, he announces himself to the receptionist and presents them with a selection of three small wax covered cheeses from the UPE.
"The orange one is a St. Brendan's Cheddar. The other two are from Nouvelle Anjou. The white one is made from sheep's milk. The wax covering is a wrapping, not a part of the cheese."
 
Woody enjoys a pleasant evening at a local jazz club, and finds several more on the way to and from his destination in the same district. Buen Puerto's music scene has a reputation for good reason, it appears. He hears mostly Spanish that evening, but finds no shortage of fluent English speakers to aid him throughout the night. With the police action on New Bengal over, a number of English-speaking tourists have begun to return to Buen Puerto, and the locals are eager for their dollars.

As Park enters the Government Building, he notices several high-ranking Tilapian military uniforms meeting with a group of their familiar-looking Eutopian counterparts. The receptionist thanks him for his gift and shows him into Marcos' office straight-away. The Pro Consul is puzzling over a stack of papers when Park enters. He looks up, smiles, and rises to shake the Reverend's hand.

"Reverend Park, good to see you again! A fine piece of work in Surrey, I'm very impressed. I hope you'll forgive me, but I've been unable to review our agenda for today, what with everything going on lately...as soon as I grow that third arm, I might catch up. What can I do for you?"
 
I am here at the suggestion of my President, Dr. Glasser. I am serving as Finance Minister again in the UPE, which has responsiblity for trade and customs under our current constitution. Tilapia, although not a member of CAFTA has continued to enjoy free and open access to our markets for your exports. If your country were a member of CAFTA, there are three issues we would want to discuss in the framework of that organization. Matters that some might perhaps consider to be anti-competitive practices. These include agricultural subsidies, labor market practices, and pollution regulations. Tilapia is net exporter of food to the UPE. Farmers in the UPE feel that they are disadvantaged relative to your agricultural sector due to the assistance it receives here. In the UPE, agriculture is a provincal matter, so there is no federal agricultural support program, nor is one planned. Agricultural subsidies are a worldwide problem, with many nations speaking out. The UPE can adjust its tariffs to deal with dumping if necessary, but we have refrained from doing so with respect to your country based on the former open trading relationship prior to our countries going their separate ways. The pressure from the farmers is forcing me consider if that zero tariff policy is still appropriate or not.

Our business owners and labor unions have complained about losing sales and jobs to Tilapian firms and workers, because of the lower cost structure here due to lower benefits for workers and less stringent pollution regulations.

If you were in CAFTA, we would study the impact carefully and bring up the matter, which in effect would be decided by St. Esprit, as they are the only founding member. We would, of course, abide by their decision. You, of course, would have the option of withdrawing if it were unacceptable. If you were completely outside CAFTA, we would study the matter, and probably implement a 5% countervailing duty, to compensate for the agricultural subsidies and the other advantage that Tilapian firms have due to the lack of harmonization between our nations policies. Before doing so, of course, it would be appropriate to discuss the situation with your government, which is why I am here.

I have read nothing about your nation turning its decision to abide by CAFTA in principle into actually joining the organization, so I assume that is not in the cards. Even so, does that "in principle" pronouncement mean that you would be willing to go through a CAFTA complaint process, or would you rather keep the discussion of this issues purely bilateral? It being well understood that you would rather not be having the conversation at all.
 
Marcos raises an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, I don't have the documents handy, but I'm curious as to exactly what practices you are referring to? Yes, we are a net exporter of food to your country, and yes our business climate is a good deal more appealing than yours, but I fail to see why we should change this, and am unaware of farming subsidies that are causing particular trouble.

You see, Reverend Park, this is why we chose not to join CAFTA but rather abide by the spirit of it...we would rather maintain our sovereignty than bow to pressure from farmers in your country who would rather complain than adapt. As part of that principled membership in CAFTA, both our country and yours maintain the right to engage in these anti-trade practices like tariffs that you've come to hang over my head. But do you really want to start a trade war with your country's food supply in the balance? I would advise against it, but if you're hell-bent on such a thing, then we are game, Reverend Minister.

I must say, I find the timing here to be interesting, especially if President Glasser sent you. He had an audience with the Queen just recently, and mentioned nothing of the sort you're bringing to me...and one would think that right after the promise of aid she would be in a particularly gracious mood. Of course, the longer we continue to wait, the less gracious she becomes."
 
"Ah! I must have expressed myself poorly. I was considering demands from farmers, business owners, workers and fisherpers for a duty on Tilapian imports. It is President Glasser who asked me to come speak to you before doing anything."

Woody checks his notes.

"I see that the food producing sector that is protected is fishing, not agriculture. Please excuse my misstatement.

I assure you I do not want a trade war. I came seeking clarification. Tilapia has chosen to abide by the principles of CAFTA, with certain reservations so that your sovereignty is not infringed. If you were in CAFTA, the UPE would be entitled to bring certain issues to that organization. As I said, it would be St. Esprit that would hear our points and your rebuttal, and decide. You are not in CAFTA, yet the statement that you would agree by it in principle might be interpreted that you would agree to participate in its trade issue resolution process. I am not asking you to bow to the pressure of our farmers, even though I must represent their interests, merely whether you would entertain using the CAFTA dispute resolution process as an appropriate and neutral venue for the arbtration of those issues. If St. Esprit finds in your favor, then those in the UPE who had issues would recognize that they had had a fair hearing but then must realize they are without a valid complaint. That is why I raised the question.

If you don't want to use the CAFTA dispute resolution mechanism, I understand. It is certainly your country's prerogative not do so, and thus I would have no complaints about such a decision. If you decided not to do so, then we could discuss the matters bilaterally, that is directly. Do you wish to consult with your gracious Queen and your fellow Consulari about whether to use CAFTA's dispute resolution mechanism or not?"
 
"Well, let me try to understand the scope of the issue here. Your constituents want a duty imposed on all Tilapian imports, or just on the protected sector...specifically, fish? There is a very large difference there.

The problem with removing protections from our fishing industry is that, well, our nation is, at least symbolically, built on it. To abandon them would not be just cutting off a wounded economic sector and letting it sink or swim, it would be seen as an affront to the backbone of our nation. El Reino della Tilapia, and all that. I'm extremely reticent to reduce those subsidies, Reverend Park, our fisherpers would go berserk. But, if the UPE were to scratch our back a little here, I could certainly try and get the favor returned.

I'd like to think that we can work this out face-to-face, like gentlemen, rather than taking this to some third party...but if we can't, I'll talk to the Queen and Consulate about the CAFTA procedure."
 
There are different constituents with different axes to grind. Taking all their concerns together, and accepting their validity, would in effect lead to a blanket 5% tariff on all Tilapian imports. An alternative would be to adjust the tariffs to levels charged for non-members of CAFTA, sometimes termed the next-most-favored nation status, such as apply to imports from the US and the EU. This would mean higher duties on some products and lower duties on others, and any future changes would not single out your nation.

Some of those concerns, like those of the fisherpers, might have greater validity than some of the others. I was hoping to let CAFTA take the heat for separating the wheat from the chaff as it were, the legimate concerns from the whining crybabies, but I understand your preference for not involving them and will respect that.

Other than the protections for your fishing industry, most of the other concerns depend on an argument that there is a lack of harmonization between the policies in our two countries. This is always a delicate subject, because any increased coordination means that both countries are doing something different than they had done on their own. As such I think it would require some study, don't you? Comparing the practices in the two countries, considering whether there was a potential common ground, putting it a GA vote in the UPE and allowing your government to freely accept or reject the possible common policy. All this takes time. The two areas that appear to be worth such an effort are environmental regulations and labor regulations.

I understand the need for your current support of the fishing industry to be maintained. Would a 5% tariff on fish imports from Tilapia, starting say at the begining of next term, lead to increased subsidies or retaliational tariffs on products from the UPE? If not, then that and agreement to study greater policy harmonization in environmental and labor market regulations would probably cause the lobbyists to focus elsewhere.
 
Marcos rubs his temples, then looks at Park. "Per Park, let me put this out on the table. If your country treats us as a non-CAFTA member with these blanket duties, then we will withdraw from our promise to abide by the spirit of said agreement. If you expect us to keep doing so, you would be asking us to abide by the agreement while you did not. That we cannot do. If you institute a blanket 5% duty on all Tilapian goods, we will cease to abide by the spirit of the CAFTA agreement in any way, shape, or form. What's good for the goose, and all that.

A blanket duty on all Tilapian goods because of our fishing industry protections seems a little severe to me, Per Park. I am also concerned by this harmonization of policies you seek, Reverend. If you are referring to your labor laws, as I think you are, it is well known that your country's employment codes are extremely lenient. Am I correct in the assumption that your country would not be rolling back these protections to meet us halfway, but instead expecting us to increase ours? Because if that's so, what you're asking me to do is change my country's laws and reduce her protections for our backbone industry, while you do...what exactly?

I'm not opposed to trying to reach an agreement, Per Park, but at this point I see no benefit for Tilapia in doing so. If we leave our protections in place and you implement a blanket 5% duty on our goods, or second-most-favored nation status, we will no longer abide by any spirit of the CAFTA agreement, and your food will be more expensive, which I'm told leads to unhappy villagers. It will be unfortunate on both sides, but equally unpleasant all around while we don't have to change our internal policies...and it's nothing we can't survive."
 
Thank-you for that explanation. I didn't actually intend to convey the impression that we would be under those scenarios, but it is useful to know the Tilapian position if we were. I was trying to explore scenarios other than a blanket 5% tariff on Tilapian goods and services.

The harmonization process, with which you expressed some legitimate concerns, clearly could not work the way you feared. First and foremost, these are complicated issues, unlikely to be clearly understood in the limited time before the next general election in the UPE. Thus, the first benefit of any harmonization process, at least to my government, is to be able to show that we are doing something to address the issues. The benefit to your government would be that nothing financial would happen immediately. You would deal with my successor, who may have different views. If you and that person arrived at a concensus as to what an appropriate harmonized policy might be, it would need to be duly approved by our Minister or more likely, if it required legislative approval because it changed some law, by our General Assembly and signed by the President. If we failed to that, any objection that we might have would be moot, although that would open up grounds for your country to complain. If we did approve the harmonized policy and your government decided not to implement it, then we would have a trade issue for which usual remedies, like countervailing duties, might be applied, but of course that would be much later than now.

If we failed to reach a concensus about what a harmonized poicy might be, then we would assess what the trade impact of the existing policy divergence was, as apply an appropriate remedy if it did indeed have an impact. I realize this might not be the way you would want things done, which was why I suggested using the existing CAFTA framework, so as to not have to re-invent a second trade dispute resolution process for this modest sized island when one already exists.

Some sort of dispute resolution process, which I reckon would likely lead to duties on Tilapian fish exports, but perhaps nothing else, is what I hoped to achieve, as it helps me deal with those complaining about competition. If your country doesn't want to discuss the process and only wants to discuss specific issues, which is how I currently understand your position, then I have no objection.

If that is correct, then I will have to do further research the areas regarding labor market protections and environmental protections, and so would ask to table that for the present, to be dealt with, perhaps by my successor, at some future date. I would want to discuss the fishing issue presently. Do you have figures about the amount of the subsidy provided to your fishing industry relative the value of the catch, or do you consider that a 5% duty on fish imports to be approximately correct? If we were, on the basis of this discussion, to impose such a duty, would your government consider it as a reason to impose duties generally or specifically on our exports to your country or to increase the subsidy to your fishing industry?
 
"This is a thorny issue" Marcos replies "and most likely one I will have to take back to my colleagues. The response I would expect, should you enact a tariff on our fish, would be a retaliatory duty on some product or products from the United Provinces, and the aforementioned price rise across the board for much of your country's seafood. Not to sway you from your course, but are you not concerned that price rises across the board will cost you more votes than you'll gain from your dying fishing industry supporters? I'm quite certain that our elected Consulari will bring up that very argument, and it's something we'll have to weigh.

To answer your initial question, no, I do not have our subsidy figures immediately at hand. But should their profits fall, due to foreign duties, I imagine there would be a very strong inclination to increase the subsidization to compensate. In which case, I think, everyone loses, no?"
 
Your country is perfectly entitled to subsidize the fishing industry domestically. There are some free traders, such as the founder of CAFTA, that would welcome the opportunity to buy fish from you below cost. But I am not Loic de Fourgéres, I represent the workers who are disadvantaged by your policy. Subsidizing fish production for export, which I think we agree that Tilapia does, is something that we could bring up at CAFTA, if you abided fully, but you don't. It is something we could bring up at the WTO, but it would have repercussions for your other trading partners, who might pile on to our initiative and make things worse for your country, which I have no wish to have occur. Therefore, I am here bringing it up directly. You understandably objected to an across the board 5% duty, but said "But, if the UPE were to scratch our back a little here, I could certainly try and get the favor returned."

I attempted to do so by pushing off consideration of environmental and labor market issues until next term and limiting the application to your fish exports to us. You predicted that would lead to "a retaliatory duty on some product or products from the United Provinces". Since we are of the opinion that a duty on your fish is permissible to offset your subsidies, that retaliatory duty would not be viewed as permissible, so we would be almost obliged to impose other duties, which would swiftly lead us to the situation of a 5% across the board duty or perhaps higher. If you also accompanied that by increasing the subsidization to compensate, then it could well be higher. That is not a threat, merely a prediction, like your statements. Thus, it seems that my attempt to limit the scope of tariff was not exactly what you had in mind when you referred to back scratching. Rather than guess what you were looking for, perhaps you could spell it out?
 
"Per Park, I'm sorry, but I don't see offering to delay forcing us to change our domestic policies as a real favor, you know? As for what specifically you could give us, I don't know what you have to offer. Perhaps you could find a way to make your finished exported goods cheaper for Tilapian buyers, like electronic systems and other manufactured items, through some manner of subsidy. Take it back to your government if you like, see what they can think of.

If you can come up with some economic incentive for us, I'll see to it that our subsidies on our fisherpers are reduced accordingly, and everyone comes out ahead."
 
"So what you are suggesting is that you would not object if we implemented some sort of subsidy on things you don't currently produce. We could sell more, and thus increase jobs in that sector, at a cost to our budget. In turn, you might then be willing to reduce your fishing subsidy, which would tend to stimulate employment in our fishing sector but raise our food costs, but probably by the same amount as a tariff. So the benefits are no trade war and more jobs but with a cost to our budget instead of the tariff revenues. That probably requires action from our legislature. A true free trader would consider this equivalent to an invitation to join the 'dark side', but I am not a true free trader. I will consider your suggestion and get back to you."

Woody gets up to leave.

"Thank-you for your time."
 
Marcos stands up to shake Woody's hand. "Of course, Reverend. Anytime."
 
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