[REDSC400]

On a recent trip to Europe (Luxembourg, Belgium, Holland and France) for business, I became aware of two things financial. First thing was that the US dollar in relationship to the Euro was tradings at $1.20 US for $1 Euro. Not in the US Dollar's favor.

Second thing, and more important, was that all goods in Europe were very expensive when compared to goods in the USA. Upon closer inspection however, I became aware that most all goods in those countries were made in the European Union (EU). The existance of goods from China, Korea, Mexico, etc. was essentially non-existant on the shelves. So the Europeans seem to be only selling items that originate in the the EU. In fact the only US export items I saw were candy bars, cigarettes, DVDs, CDs, and films. It seems that the typical european shop keeper does not (for reasons unknown to me) sell imported goods IF they can get them from within the EU. There must be some real tuff tarriffs keeping imported goods out.

In the mean time, the typical European shopper must do with fewer items at a MUCH higher cost. Examples... sneakers for $120 Euros and up. Mens jeans... nothing under $70 Euros. You get the picture...