Quote:
Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos
McDonald's is the Wal-Mart of beef sales. They definitely compete on price. You can't beat them on price!
All the beef they sell in Canada is Canadian beef. If they were to announce tomorrow that they are going to get all their beef from the States from now on, that would be fine, because they compete on price?
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If McDonalds were to start sourcing from the US, one might assume that our producers were not cost-competitive, and therefore accept McDonald's choice as economically valid.
Earl's is changing their sourcing to a (presumably) more expensive source, which they are likely to pass on to the consumer, and then increase their own profits on top of that.
It's very much different. I don't care for the Canadian dairy industry ripping off Canadian consumers through the quota system, but Alberta beef is competitive, and as such, I have no interest in paying a premium for beef sourced from the USA.
Protectionism/jingoism/nationalism/mercantilism/whatever is economically detrimental (given that other jurisdictions can reciprocate if we do not adopt free trade with them) but I object when we kneecap our own competitive sectors for political reasons.