| Show CONSUMER O FM N E i R by Paul Thurston With Will every American consumer consumer con con- sumer Rumer being rudely awakened by just what inflation means to the family budget It II is welcome news to hear that there has been blen an abrupt turn turnaround turnaround turnaround around In our balance of or payments with Japan As AR her principal customer and major supplier this situation should v o r v K r- T rT T III prove healthy for our export industries at the same time Ume that quality Japanese merchandise merchandise mer chandise continues to be marketed marketed mar mar- here at reasonable prices In the first half of 1973 our exports to Japan rose rosea a whopping percent meaning more jobs and money money money mon mon- ey for American workers During During During Dur Dur- ing the same period Japan sent us 78 percent more goods increasing the flow of merchandise to the AmerIcan American Amer Amer- ican can consumer Other good news for American American American Amer Amer- ican consumers and there isn't much of that around these days is that the House Ways and Means Committee has defeated defeated defeated de de- de- de a move to include mandatory import quotas Inthe in inthe inthe the administration trade bill Consumers who are faced with skyrocketing prices would surely have felt the impact of this amendment which would have triggered automatic quotas quotas quotas quo quo- tas whenever imports amounted amount amount- ed to 15 percent of the US U.S. market What the American market which means the American consumer needs right now is isa isa isa a sufficient amount of goods available to st stem m the rising co cost t of merchandise which systematically follows a tight supply While we reel from the soaring costs of most things many hope that radios television sets automobiles and other Japanese consumer goods which are now a part of our daily lives will not be restricted through shortsighted ed actions by a few non non- thinking politicians |
