As you all know Europe has a financial crisis and one of the major issues is the imbalance of trade between Asia and Europe, leading to national debt and unemployment, so now is a good time to straighten at least one thing out.

If I want to buy a BMW or Jaguar car here, the Thai government want me to pay a huge amount of tax, which goes directly to Thai government and helps Thailand. This makes European cars uncompetitive and helps promoted Thai vehicles, so Thailand gain in two ways.

If I want to buy a Thai built pick-up truck in Europe I don't have to pay much additional tax, so with lower labour costs, the Thai product is already more competitive.

This is true in many Asian countries (including China) and should be addressed, we should demand the removal of these taxes, or impose exactly the same tax rates on everything that comes from Asia. Put 100% duty on a Thai built Toyota truck entering the EU and they would sell nothing in Europe. Remove the duty from a BMW or Jaguar and they would sell thousands more here.

Growth is something desperately needed in Europe and this should lead to growth. We are not forcing Asian countries to do anything, so there are no threats here and no reason for conflict.

We allowed the Japs to do this 30 years ago and it helped their trade a huge amount, we don't need a trade advantage, just trade equality to sell European products here.

European historic activities come back to bite them on the backside.

You allowed the 'Japs' to do it for 30 years. Oh how very benevolent of you! Might be better to start looking in your own backyard before you start whinging about a few BMW's or toyota pickups.

EU agricultural subsidies come to mind.

I read once in celebration of the punitive tariffs that the EU imposes, the NZ embassy in brussels annually imports the 2kg of NZ chocolate it is allowed to each year and gives it away to EU bureaucrats as a form of protest.

^{so now is a good time to straighten at least one thing out}

Would that be something like taking less holidays?

Am I the only one who thinks the OP is rambling, bringing together a few ill-thought through platitudes to come up with a nonsense proposition, perhaps prompted by the fact he can't afford the car he wants in Thailand?

The trade imbalance is not the cause of the European financial crisis. Decades of living beyond your means - both individually and as governments - has caused the financial crisis, and now it's coming home to roost. You've borrowed too much, and you can't afford to pay it back. Meanwhile, borrowing too much and having benefits etc, has given Europeans a sense of privilege and wealth that they didn't really have, but that hasnt stopped people believing they're entitled to it, and - in the process - sneering at places like Thailand for not having the same lifestyle.

Well, tough luck Europe. You've had your fun, now is the time to pay for it. It's Asia's turn now.

Fifteen years ago, the Europeans and the western world looked down their noses at the Asian Financial Crisis. Now the shoe is on the other foot. As the say in LOS, som nam na.

Am I the only one who thinks the OP is rambling, bringing together a few ill-thought through platitudes to come up with a nonsense proposition, perhaps prompted by the fact he can't afford the car he wants in Thailand?

The trade imbalance is not the cause of the European financial crisis. Decades of living beyond your means - both individually and as governments - has caused the financial crisis, and now it's coming home to roost. You've borrowed too much, and you can't afford to pay it back. Meanwhile, borrowing too much and having benefits etc, has given Europeans a sense of privilege and wealth that they didn't really have, but that hasnt stopped people believing they're entitled to it, and - in the process - sneering at places like Thailand for not having the same lifestyle.

Well, tough luck Europe. You've had your fun, now is the time to pay for it. It's Asia's turn now.

Fifteen years ago, the Europeans and the western world looked down their noses at the Asian Financial Crisis. Now the shoe is on the other foot. As the say in LOS, som nam na.

You forgot to mention immigration.

Big player where I'm from,the system can not cope.

Personally, I'd rather have cheap cars.

I don't particularly want to subsidise uneconomic car factories or coal mines (or farms); I'd rather reduce the cost of living so that people can work for less and we can cut the cost of the dole. I'd rather improve education so that people are fit for more than repetitive assembly line work that would be better done by robots.

SC

You forgot to mention the cost of welfare - pensions and the like, as well...