This gets the sad but true award of the day. You forgot to mention that another obstacle is the already well-established ‘Made in…’ labels in Western Europe that some countries would not want to give up. Perhaps they could co-exist with the ‘Made in the EU’ sign?

@ H.P.,

Most are too busy viciously elbowing each other in their haste to board, and once there, to hold on to their place on the gravy train. The only trade they are interested in is the one that involves them making a fact finding mission to somewhere exotic.

What an example to follow ! More of the same .

Now go and repeat that to your MEP. Because none of them gives a toss. All they want is more free trade worldwide.

Well it is obviously a shoe shop. Italy and Spain, especially Spain, are something of a hidden jewel in European leatherworking.

Some people insist on buying cheaper Chinese goods, without sparing a thought of what this entails.

Let’s start with the political considerations.

Does one really want to support an oppressive regime that has invaded and subjugated a peaceful nation, Tibet?

Does one wish to support a country that had till recently harassed mothers to abort second or third pregnancies?

But apart from the political considerations, one should also consider the economic fallout of this purchasing decision.

Take a chap recently laid off when the German company he worked for was forced out of business by Chinese competition using dirt cheap labour with no labour laws, no R & D, and far fewer overheads.

So what, you may ask. Shouldn’t the rule of survival of the cheapest/fittest hold here to? Doesn’t the market sort itself out?

What few understand is the spinoff effect of this choice. You save a few euros and put thousands of out of work in Europe. Most of the money you spend goes to China and is not funneled back into the European economy. The people who have lost their jobs are not spending either, putting more people out of work.

Fewer people travel, and fewer come to Malta on holiday.

So next time you consider a cheaper, possibly inferior, Chinese product, think of what this choice may mean.

Made in USA and Made in Germany are such big selling points that I cannot for the life of me wonder why the EU has not yet done it.

[Daphne – Go ahead and say it. I can’t because I don’t have it.]