Quote:
Originally Posted by a_Username
To completely uphold protectionist policies is never smart. Toyota entering our market provokes much needed competition, and I as a consumer do appreciate their additions to our market. Competition leads to innovation, choice, etc., and all of these factors are what make up both our social and economical philosophies.
However, completely disregarding your own domestic products can be disastrous in the long run. As of right now, we do have at least equal product when compared to our imported competition. We should not make ourselves unable to compete in this global market by empowering our competition. This situation can be created by simply not supporting your home-grown products.
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I generally agree with that. Toyota being in our market has unquestionably make the cars from GM and Ford much better than they otherwise would have been.
We do need to do more to prevent our own homegrown industries from being put at a systematic disadvantage. The answer is not protectionism, it is reciprocity. There is a reason very few Koreans and Japanese drive American cars, but so many Americans drive Korean and Japanese cars, and no, it has nothing to do with differences in build quality. If the Japanese want Toyota to have full, open access to the US market, the requirement should be equally full access to the Japanese market for GM. Afterall protectionism will work damn well for those who practice it if the other side does not.