Transcript of First Video Segment of Carlos Medine
VOICE-OVER NARRATOR: Present at this meeting today are the economic leaders of the island nations of Vanuatu and Fiji and Mr. Carlos Medine, the President of the Trilateral Trade Consortium. President Medine is about to describe a recent event that could potentially open up new trade avenues for these two islands.
CARLOS MEDINE: Welcome to all of you. Because you are the economic leaders of the two island nations of Vanuatu and Fiji, it’s my privilege to be able to address you today with some important information. As most of you know, the 100-year-old war between your neighboring islands of Tonga and Samoa has finally come to an end. Because each of your islands chose to remain neutral during the war, you have not been able to trade with them. But now that peace is here, both of you are free to begin trade—trade that will improve relations and economic output for all of the island nations involved.
Today, I discussed this matter with the premiers of your two islands. Each of them wants you to negotiate a trade agreement with Tonga or Samoa or both. My aides will soon be distributing information that will help you reach such an agreement quickly.
This data will tell you the number of hours it takes each island to produce the items to be traded. Use these numbers to figure out which goods and services you want to produce yourselves and which you want Tonga or Samoa to produce. Our economic analysts at the Trilateral Trade Consortium are extremely thorough in their research, so you can rest assured that the hours are estimated accurately.
It’s been brought to my attention that the people from your own two islands do not trust each other. That’s unfortunate, but because of this hostility, the people of Vanuatu will not be expected to trade with the people of Fiji. Also, any trade agreements between Vanuatu and Tonga or Samoa will not affect trade agreements made by Fiji, and vice versa.
I’m sure you all know that many people resist trade, any kind of trade, so don’t be surprised if you hear instant criticism when you begin talking about opening up your island to trade. To prepare for this, you should probably familiarize yourself with the many benefits that can result from trade. I realize that most of you are economists, but because you’ve been isolated for so many years, it’s possible that you’re not aware of the many arguments favoring trade. With that in mind, I’ve asked my aides to develop a series of questions for you to research. By focusing on these questions in economic theory, you should quickly see how trade could benefit both of your islands.
The quickest and best way for you to gain expertise in this area is to form “expert” groups that address each question. My aides are also distributing a technical paper developed by the Trilateral Trade Consortium that might help your research efforts.
Your premiers will be contacting you soon to tell you how to proceed with the trade negotiations. We at the Trilateral Trade Consortium wish you well.