n by their government. In contrast Great

n by their government. In contrast Great

n TradeRivalryThe German-Great Britain Trade Rivalry in Comparison to the U.S.- Japan TradeRivalryThe German-Great Britain trade rivalry like the U.

S.-Japan trade rivalryinvolved a rising power cutting into the trade of an already dominant tradingpower. There were several causes of the German-Great Britain trade rivalryaccording to Hoffman.

The first was German’s industry’s zeal in procuring newcontracts and expanding markets. They did this by fulfilling contracts even ifthey 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 noteven supply consular assistance in helping develop markets in British colonies.Fourth, British trade was hurt by the conservatism of British manufacturers whowere 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 growand 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 largeand arrogant and refused to believe it could face competition from Japan. LikeBritain, U.S.

industry believed that they could hold onto markets and would notface competition. British and U.S. industry were startled by the fast rate ofgrowth and industrialization that allowed Germany and Japan to transformthemselves quickly into trading rivals. This fast rate of growth also causedfriction between both sets of countries. Relations between Germany and GreatBritain were damaged as they bickered over markets in particular colonies inAfrica . This is similar to the friction between the U.

S. and Japan unfairtrading practices and closed markets.Both the U.S.

and Great Britain in response to losing markets toyed withthe idea of economic nationalism and tariffs. As Britain lost markets to Germanymany in Britain felt that Britain should adopt tariffs on goods while othersknown as the free traders believed that a free trade would benefit Britain bycreating markets. This split between Tariff Reformers and Free Traders issimilar to the split in the U.S. between those in favor of free trade and thoseopposed to it.

Germany’s grab for new markets in the 1890’s through commercialtreaties such as the 1891 treaty with Austria-Hungry is similar to both theUnited States and Japan’s free trade zones with neighboring countries usingtreaties such as ASEAN and NAFTA.The German-Great Britain trade rivalry is different then the U.S.-Japantrade rivalry because a large sector of Japan’s market for selling goods is theUnited States who it is competing against; this was not true of Germany. BothBritain and Germany were competing for markets outside of both their countries.Also the trade rivalry between Japan and the United States did not involve afight over colonies.

Trade rivalries between rising and dominant powers changelittle over time. The German-British trade rivalry and the Japan U.S.

rivalrywere very similar in their causes, effects, and the solutions that both sets ofgovernments used to overcome their trading rival.