This is a good question and should be asked by everyone, when buying something, for several reasons. Unfortunately not everyone understands the importance of this matter and some do exactly the opposite of what would benefit the national interest. I'm saying this without being nationalist, or short sighted, I can promise you that.
This morning I came across an article by Euronews, about 'Made in Europe' plan sparks intense Brussels lobbying. I had no idea about the initiative as I'm not reading the news all day, every day, but it reminded me of the mindset people have, altered by the needs they have.
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash
I grew up in a country heavily isolated from the outside world for a good reason, where internal production was the only way to satisfy internal demand. This, in itself is not necessarily a bad thing, when it happens organically, but it wasn't the case. As there was no such thing as privately owned companies, all the commerce was exclusively reserved to the state.
Imports were restricted to what was strictly necessary, which did not include consumer goods and the little that was imported of this category was distributed to the members of the communist party. This means the good quality goods were exported and low quality goods hit the internal market. Really bad quality goods that could not be sold otherwise, were packed with highly sought after products and you had to pay the price of the whole pack, if you wanted the good quality product.
Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash
These methods created a perception in people's mind that only imported products are good quality, which, at the time of writing is not true anymore, with the liberalization of the markets, the only way companies have have been able to survive was by having high enough standards and competitive prices. This alone however is not enough, buyers have to participate in this game as well and this is where I see us failing or not doing enough.
Buying imported products means supporting other countries' economy and undermining your own. Some people are just less educated to understand how things work in this regard, others are forced to go for the lowest price, even though sometimes you pay more by opting for this strategy and others simply don't care as they can afford to pay whatever it costs.
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash
The government has recently stepped in and introduced some taxes for cheap Chinese, Turkish and God knows what countries products, flooding the whole EU and causing not only a surge in delivery, but considerable damages to the economy as well. EU has been working on a similar bill, but I don't have any knowledge on the state of the matter.
We've seen what Trump has done with the tariffs. He basically has weaponized these trade agreements and has been bullying every country ever since. His strategy is "If you don't do what I want, you'll pay". EU is one of his favorite countries to badmouth as he's not happy that the EU is not importing from the US as much as he'd want.
With the recent wars, the world order is changing, some countries are losing big, while others are getting stronger. Smart countries do the right thing and build their future now, while others go for the easiest solution and lose sight of the bigger picture.
The math is simple. The less dependent you are on other countries, the better for you. It's a no brainer, but it's not going to happen on its own, you have to make it happen. It costs money, it requires long term vision, progressive thinking, development and investment in the right direction, but pays off nicely. A very big part is the government's job, but we have our part to do as well.
Photo by Clark Street Mercantile on Unsplash
This is kind of similar to the saying "work on making your dreams come true, or others are going to hire you to make their dreams come true". I'm not sure this is the exact quote, but you understand the meaning. Better supply other countries, than be dependent on them.
Yeah, me rambling endlessly here 😂. This is the thought of the day. Do what you want with it.
By the way, while I was writing this post, came across a post on X:
if you're reading this, make sure you're doing something today to work towards your goals and be even a little bit closer to them
Cheers! 🥂
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