Research and analyze your selected country’s form of government, governmental regulations, and its economy. Write a 750-word essay in which you provide detailed descriptions for each of these elements.
• Describe the impact that these three elements would have on your concept operation.
• Summarize the effects that import/export restrictions and government oversight would have on your concept operation.
• Include any menu modifications that might be necessitated by import/export limitations.
• By now you should have decided on the one particular country you will be using for the final and all related assignments. If you chose South America, you need to have which country in
• South America. The same for Europe, if you chose Europe,
• then concentrate on the one country within Europe. Please
• have your specifics, such as the city and/or town within your
• country and the name of your restaurant. For this assignment,
• if you chose China, and the government will not allow your business
• to operate there, that is ok, just do the needed research, state which
• Province your establishment will reside in and go from there. Make sure
• to explain to us that you chose an area of China that will not allow this,
• if that is what you did.
Tariffs, Subsidies and exchange rates were the three issues identified as having the largest impact on the food service industry. This essay focuses on those issues, and their application to my planned American restaurant located near Ramstein, Germany.
The menu for the restaurant includes typical American fare, such as fresh hamburgers, beef steaks, onion rings, French fries, and traditional German fare, such as pork sausages and schnitzels.
Thanks to a treaty with the United States and the European Union, ( there is only a 3% import duty on US exports to the European Union (EU). If unique ingredients must be imported, tariffs will not add significantly, but delivery costs likely would, especially for a single stand alone restaurant.
The ingredients needed for the menu items are locally available, and of excellent quality ( Beef, pork, and vegetables are readily available, and fresh beef is proudly available from multiple local sources ( Importing menu items is unnecessary for this restaurant operation. In fact, given the high standards German food producers have for their food products, and growing concerns about GMO foods available in the United States, the import of such foods is not a viable option. Food imports from the US are restricted by EU law (from the Library of Congress, “Regulation No. 1829/2003 prohibits placing on the EU market a GMO for food use, or a food containing or consisting of GMOs or food products produced “from” GMOs, unless an authorization is granted. Food and feed produced “with” a GMO are excluded from the scope of this Regulation. The critical determining factor is whether material derived from a GMO is present in the food or feed; thus, if a GMO is not present in the food or feed, then such food or feed does not fall within the purview of Regulation 1829/2003.”(ibid, Reg. (EC) No. 1829/2003,supranote 3, Recital 16.).
Subsidies, a staple in incentivizing local production at the expense of imported goods, are likewise also not a factor. The cost of transport, delays in delivery and requisite storage for delivered goods, and the (small) import duty, make the notion of subsidies inapplicable for this venture. Unless the costs of goods or quality make domestic meats and vegetables unsuitable, importing food products is unlikely for this business.
Lastly, exchange rates will only be applicable to this business if, and when, the business has to purchase goods overseas (not applicable) or if they have to expatriate funds to the US (also not a regular occurrence, since management of one stand alone restaurant assumes local management and ownership). Currently, the US/Euro exchange rate ( is 1.1162 USD per EUR. The dollar is currently very strong against the Euro, as Great Britain’s recent vote to leave the European Union has damaged EU exchange rates, and the USD/EUR in particular. Since all the restaurant’s business can be done in Euros, this will only be an issue if, and when, expatriation of funds into US dollars is needed.
The US Department of State reported in 2015 that the German government actively encourages US investment in Germany ( They report that “The German legal, regulatory and accounting systems can be complex, but are transparent and consistent with international norms. Businesses enjoy considerable freedom within a well regulated environment. Foreign and domestic investors are treated equally when it comes to investment incentives, and the establishment and protection of real and intellectual property. Foreign investors can fully rely on the legal system which is efficient and sophisticated.“. One can likely hire local legal and tax firms to provide competent advice and counsel needed for legal compliances. It does not appear that local laws or regulations would have an adverse impact on the concept operation.
It does not appear that there will be any menu limitations due to import regulations. Of the concept operation menu items, only veggie burgers might require investigation into availability. McDonald’s offers a vegetarian burger in its German outlets ( The ingredients for the McDonald’s veggie burger are notably fresh (ibid), so one must assume that the ingredients can be locally sourced. A visit to the McDonald’s website ( shows a quinoa veggie burger TS available on the 1 Euro menu.