Breaking Waves
- President Obama said again this week that he wants to press ahead with the U.S.-South Korea free trade agreement. Pardon my skepticism, but I’ll believe him when he goes to the Congress and tells them he wants it passed now with no changes. I often disagree with the Heritage Foundation, but Anthony Kim got it right, fearing that Obama merely wants to re-open this FTA for negotiation a third time. When do you think the White House will realize that their union buddies are requiring them to sacrifice more than 300,000 American jobs by not implementing the Korea, Colombia and Panama FTAs? What was that about a jobless recovery?
- Pickled almonds with chili peppers? Yum! It takes creative marketing to sell nuts in China, but American companies are getting it done. A marketing friend, resident in Beijing, breaks the lessons down as follows:
1. Well-funded promotional campaign (US 3.3 million).
2. Continuous, uninterrupted marketing campaign.
3. Appealing to Chinese women who make most purchases in China.
4. Appealing to the Chinese desire for a “healthy and radiant life” instead of relying solely on taste appeal.
- I’ve posted several times about this negotiation, but the China-Taiwan trade agreement has been signed. That’s good news on both sides of the Strait.
- How big is the World’s Largest Aloha Shirt, made by Hilo Hattie and exhibited at the U.S. Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo? 400XL! That’s 168 inches at the chest and a 60 inch neck. It took 26 yards of fabric, which is the amount, Hilo Hattie says, it takes to make shirts for thirteen sumo wrestlers. You can see the shirt back in their Honolulu store on Nimitz Highway. Big fella.
