Join the new world

[img]http://www.solidaritycenter.org/content_images/Global%20Economy%20-%20Cargo%20Ship%20Suez%20Canal.JPG[/img]

We all enjoy a good alliance don't we? Knowing that another country has our back when the hordes reach our shores? But what if we wanted a bit more than that. What if we wanted a economic partnership as well a military one?

How could we favour the products of our alliance partners over any other country's products? Raising or lowering import taxes effects everyone. So currently the way you could do it would be to place a trade embargo on every other country. But that would only serve to harm your own exports too.

What we need is a better way of managing international trade. So what I propose is that congress should be able to vote on increasing or decreasing import taxes for different countries.

Now, I'm not saying that each product should be tinkered with (59 other countries, currently 12 products = 708 separate votes! More products appearing in the future!) but we could set a blanket rate for each country that moves every product's tax up or down.

So let's say: Norway wants to create a free-trade area with Sweden but wants to raise taxes against Russia.

Currently import taxes are:

Product / Import tax %

Grain / 1%
Food / 20%
Oil / 99%
Moving Tickets / 20%
Diamonds / 1%
Gifts / 20%
Iron / 1%
Weapons / 20%
Wood / 1%
Houses / 10%
Defense Systems / 99%
Hospitals / 99%

Congress votes to reduce Sweden's import taxes by 10%, and in a separate vote chooses to raise Russia's import taxes by 15%. This will alter the taxes across the board.

Products / RoW Import tax % / Sweden import tax % / Russia import tax %

Grain / 1% / 1% / 16%
Food / 20% / 10% / 35%
Oil / 99% / 89% / 99%
Moving Tickets / 20% / 10% / 35%
Diamonds / 1% / 1% / 16%
Gifts / 20% / 10% / 35%
Iron / 1% / 1% / 16%
Weapons / 20% / 10% / 35%
Wood / 1% / 1% / 16%
Houses / 10% / 1% / 25%
Defense Systems / 99% / 89% / 99%
Hospitals / 99% / 89% / 99%

All we'd have to worry about is if our free-trade partners keep their end of the bargain!

I would also like to see a new tab in the Country Administration page - an 'International Relations' page. Or perhaps a link to larger spreadsheet (much like the eWorld map).

Here it would list all of the coutries of the world, our MPP's, who we were currently at war with, and also, our import/export tax rates with them. You know, keep it all in one place rather than here, there and everywhere.

Massive thanks to Freke, Arthur Olavsson, KristofferAG and all others on the Teknokratene Forum.