
			Comparison of Trade Rivalries

         The German-Great Britain trade rivalry like the U.S.-Japan 
 trade rivalry involved a rising power cutting into the trade of
 an already dominant trading power. There were several causes of the 
 German-Great Britain trade rivalry according to Hoffman. The first was 
 German's industry's zeal in procuring new contracts and expanding 
 markets. They did this by fulfilling contracts even if they were very 
 small and constantly trying to stay up with market demand. Second, 
 Germans had a knowledge of languages that the English firms lacked. 
 Third, German industry was aided by their government. In contrast 
 Great Britain did not even supply consular assistance in helping 
 develop markets in British colonies. Fourth, British trade was hurt by
 the conservatism of British manufacturers who were unwilling to 
 develop new markets or hold onto those it already possessed. These 
 four factors are just some of the factors that helped German industry 
 grow and rival that of Great Britain. 
          These four factors are all very similar to the Japan-U.S. 
 trade rivalry. Japan like Germany was able to catch up to the U.S. 
 because the U.S. was large and arrogant and refused to believe it 
 could face competition from Japan. Like Britain, U.S. industry 
 believed that they could hold onto markets and would not face 
 competition. British and U.S. industry were startled by the fast rate 
 of growth and industrialization that allowed Germany and Japan to 
 transform themselves quickly into trading rivals. This fast rate of 
 growth also caused friction between both sets of countries. Relations 
 between Germany and Great Britain were damaged as they bickered over 
 markets in particular colonies in Africa . This is similar to the 
 friction between the U.S. and Japan unfair trading practices and 
 closed markets. 
         Both the U.S. and Great Britain in response to losing markets 
 toyed with the idea of economic nationalism and tariffs. As Britain 
 lost markets to Germany many in Britain felt that Britain should adopt 
 tariffs on goods while others known as the free traders believed that 
 a free trade would benefit Britain by creating markets. This split 
 between Tariff Reformers and Free Traders is similar to the split in 
 the U.S. between those in favor of free trade and those opposed to it. 
 Germany's grab for new markets in the 1890's through commercial 
 treaties such as the 1891 treaty with Austria-Hungry is similar to 
 both the United States and Japan's free trade zones with neighboring 
 countries using treaties such as ASEAN and NAFTA. 
          The German-Great Britain trade rivalry is different then the 
 U.S.-Japan trade rivalry because a large sector of Japan's market for 
 selling goods is the United States who it is competing against; this 
 was not true of Germany. Both Britain and Germany were competing for 
 markets outside of both their countries. Also the trade rivalry 
 between Japan and the United States did not involve a fight over 
 colonies. Trade rivalries between rising and dominant powers change 
 little over time. The German-British trade rivalry and the Japan U.S. 
 rivalry were very similar in their causes, effects, and the solutions 
 that both sets of governments used to overcome their trading rival. 

