Dollar Diplomacy

"Mr Maxim I presume." Mr Fox stood and walked around his desk and guided the DOC representative into one of the two low couches in one corner of the office, making small talk about his journey as they walked.

"I apologise for the suddenness of this meeting but we have a motto for success here. 'Be smart, be first, or cheat, and we certainly don't cheat.'" Mr Fox chucked as they both sat down. "While being first is important, I also understand that you have had a long trip so I will get straight down to business."

Taking a deep breath, Mr Fox began his pitch, "As you may know, the Hansa is one of the largest trade pacts in the world right now, you may also know that the tariffs they levy against those outside of their 'club' we shall call it, are excessive to say the least, especially when it comes to imports. This makes it an extremely hard market to break into, and even if you do, the profit margins are tiny, and the tariffs on whatever you are exporting will almost definitely increase to the point of unprofitability as soon as one of the many vested interests notice you."

Mr Fox paused briefly as the tea and cornbread he had requested was deposited on the small table between him and Mr Maxim. "Thank you Annabelle, that will be all."

"For various reasons, mostly to do with how we as a people see and conduct trade, actually joining the Hansa, DOC, or any other trade league or monopoly is off the board. However making separate deals with those blocs or the nations within is acceptable, such as the one made as part of the friendship treaty both our nations signed a few years back. Clause fourteen of said treaty guarantees tariff free trade between our two nations, even in spite of the clauses of all other agreements, such as say the Latin League, D.O.C, or even," Mr Fox's mouth spread into a broad, conspiratorial smile, "the Hansa."

Mr Fox leaned forwards in his chair, "And as the Imperium is now in the Hansa, this puts the DOC on the other side of the trade barriers that have kept Narundan goods out of the Hansa, while creating a gaping hole in those same tariffs for us to exploit. Now, of course, any trade going into or out of the Hansa tariff free would have to go through Imperial hands first, which is why you are here. The DOC is one of the largest trade conglomerates in existence, your company handles all sorts of goods going to and from hundreds of exporters, to thousands of importers, to tens, if not hundreds of millions of end users. The contacts, and routes you control are, in all likelihood, beyond anything I, or my children, and grandchildren, could create in all of our lifetimes. If we sell you something, you know exactly where to sell, who to sell to, and in what amount required as to not crash the market. Meanwhile if we try to sell it ourselves through a shell company, it would take months to find a buyer, months to set up the export route, weeks to organise production, and after all that we would in all probability be getting a worse deal than what we would have if we sold through you in the first place. And that's just for one deal, we would have to do that every, single, time. I want to do, is sell goods to the DOC, which will then be sent to the Hansa, to be sold to their internal market, avoiding all the troublesome tariffs that have kept us out for so long."

Mr Fox gestured to a small stack of papers on the end of the desk, "In that is the amount of and type of products that my company currently transports, along with estimates as to how much we could increase output by, and what extra products we could bring to the Hansa's internal market, within three months. This is everything from wheat, corn, and beef, to lathes, cars, and guns. If we can hash out a deal we could ship any or all of it to anywhere in the Hansa that we want. And if we can't..." Mr Fox threw his hands up in the air, "I will have to spend the next several years setting up shell companies, dodging investigations, and attempting to break into a market I know nothing about. If I succeed, and that is a very big if, I will probably sell a fraction of what is listed in those documents." 

Mr Fox let his hands fall and leant back in his chair. "I am offering an excellent deal for both of our corporations. If this goes well, which it definitely will, we all make a lot of money which I'm sure the investors will enjoy. I know that was a large deal to dump on you all at once, so I'm not expecting an immediate yes or no answer, make any enquiries you need. If you want, I can organise a driver to take you to the telegraph office or anywhere else you might want to go in the city. If you have any questions, please, ask away."