• Avid Amoeba@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    Very interesting read! I always thought China’s gov’t just eats those shipping costs to subsidize exports. Turns out, we are! Since Canada Post is obliged to pay for the Chinese parcels delivered within Canada and Canada Post likes to keep its finances from going into the red, it’s has to recoup the costs where it can. Such as its domestic shipping rates. Essentially buying something shipped from Canada subsidizes the item shipped from China. That’s a nice deal for some of the participants.

    • Goodtoknow@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      This makes it harder for local businesses in Canada to compete with those in China, hurting local ecommerce and brick and mortar shops. The playing field should be leveled and no one should be subsidized.

      • fresh@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        Or at least make a distinction between commercial and non-commercial mail. I understand subsidizing a letter to a developing country but this is just extracting rent.

      • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        Yup. It definitely makes it harder.

        Some will always subsidize others, unless you’re a libertarian, this is pretty much an obvious moral axiom. With that out of the way, China 30 years ago was probably worth subsidizing, but China today is not.