[BigRonW]

OK, let's consider another example - one that's probably unfamiliar to our North American (NAFTA) readers, and kind of highlights the (fairly comprehensive) difference between the EU and NAFTA. the various different nations that made up the EU were faced with a fundamental problem when attempting to open their borders to each others' goods. By doing so, they'd lose control of what could and what could not be sold in their own country. German law for example has insisted that sausages MUST contain 100% meat since back in medieval times... now they'd have to allow German manufacturers to compete with -say- british sausage makers who are allowed to add all kinds of junk to the mixture. Europe opted for "harmonization" - a process that reflected different national preferences and differences. At the heart of that process is CLEAR LABELLING, and regulations that ensure consumers KNOW what they're buying. Sounds simple? It's not. BIG row over whether British sausages and German "Wurst" could cointinue to be called the same thing (since, quite clearly, they're NOT the same thing) Or how about Icecream and chocolate? Tends to taste much the same (and the brands are the same) wherever in the EU that you buy it... but "British" Icecream and Chocolate are made from significantly different to their European rivals. If you go into a shop in Belgium and are offered what purports to be "Chocolate"made in the UK, are you being swindled if (even if it tastes the same) it's actually made from very different ingredients to the kind you normally buy? The European consensus is that the consumer must always get the benefit of the doubt. Compare that with NAFTA. Where the deal seems to be that any member country can export their goods to any other member, regardless of whether they conform to the minimum standards required of local manufacturers. Which (as things have turned out) is an arrangement that inherently favours producers over consumers. The selling of sausages and meat products, or jam may not seem relevant to a discussion of ChiPods... but What's the diference between someone selling a 3 gigabyte Chipod as 4 gigabytes... and someone selling Jam that contains 40% fruit when the locally-produced product had to contain 80%? (for US readers, "jam" is English-English for what you call "jelly"- which is the name by which we call JellO.