NationStates Jolt Archive

XNN (National news channel) television report:
The screen shows a young man, a field reporter, standing in a busy trading port, apparently in orbit of a planet. Behind him is a mass of people yelling over one another, private business owners trying to conclude deals.
"Xanthal entered its fiftieth week as a signatory nation of the International Fair Trade Agreement today with turbulence below the surface. The Ministry of Economics was largely occupied again as it has been for the last two days this morning as it struggled alongside the Ministry of International Affairs seeking to conclude trades made illegal by the IFTA charter and dealing with angry trading partners. Tomorrow will mark the first day Xanthalian ports close to non-IFTA approved cargo vessels, and problems are already arising as some independent traders refuse to remove their vessels from port. The Xanthalian Ministry of Justice is expected to work with the Ministry of the Armada and Military to enforce the ban on unapproved vessels. Starbase 11, as well as several minor ports, was shut down last night due to security concerns. It has become clear that the Socialist Republic, long a free port, will not be able to enforce the new rules without a fight. Several lawsuits have been filed with the Ministry of Justice by international parties that will be affected by the ban, but the Triumvirate has issued a statement reaffirming their dedication to full IFTA compliance. Once the new trade protocols are in place, the Xanthalian government is expected to shut down, redesign, and/or dismantle almost 140 cargo ports due to the massive cut in international commerce that will be caused by the change.
At the same time, the Xanthalian Ministry of Economics reports projections of Xanthal's first fiscal year in the IFTA ending with a favorable balance of trade, which will be the first time the nation has ended a year with a profit from international trade in nearly six decades. While some are advocating a more gradual transition in Xanthalian trade policy, these recommendations have been rejected and current plans still call for the complete stoppage of trade with unapproved nations beginning at midnight. Police patrols around major Aellis and Than system trading centers have been increased as a precaution, but the Ministry of Justice has stressed that there is no reason to believe any significant violations of the trade rule will occur. We will continue to watch this situation as the deadline for IFTA review, now two weeks away, draws ever nearer. For the Xanthalian News Network, I'm Tim Brady. Back to you John."

The dilligent work done by the Xanthalian authorities is to be commended, as their work has ensured the protection of not only workers within their countries, but in all countries Xanthal will trade with in the coming years. Xanthal's economic prosperity is in good hands with its Ministry of Economcs, and we are confident they will find their place within the IFTA with a minimum of friction while proving again the great mutual benefit enjoyed by IFTA signatories.

MoE Frontdesk

So the Xanthalians of all people have betrayed and stabbed us in the back along with their other trading partners. Oh well Zerni is a free market economy, it will hurt the economy for long though I will be hard pressed to trust the Xanthalians again.

~Emperor Mishami

I find the actions of late of Xanthal and its causal betrayal of trading partners and breaking of treaties most disturbing affairs. It has broken the both trading and the scientific cooperation treaties with our own government, one of its longest allies. This current government apparently has no qualms about betraying even long time allies, trading partners and friends. It must therefore be considered an unpredictable and uncertain country that bears close watching in the future.

~Minster of Diplomatic Affairs, Princess Lina in a memo to King Doran leaked to the international press.

Hooray for Xanthal! Fair trade, not free trade!

Xanthalian Daily Update (national newspaper) report:
With the passage of midnight, the nightmare of the past twelve hours has ended. Many of the nation's ports now lie empty as hundreds of police cruisers screen incoming ships. While there have been several incidents thus far requiring that international vessels be turned back from the Xanthalian border, there has been no open defiance of the trade rules thus far. Today also marked another first for the nation, as district 47 employees of the Xanthalian Ministry of Development put down their tools and went on strike, only six weeks after worker representation was approved in the Ministry of Justice. Their dispute over dangerous working conditions has already raised concerns in several other districts. While the strike is expected to delay several renovation projects, the Xanthalian Council rejected a proposal by the Minister of Development earlier this afternoon to restrict the workers' right to stop working. Running comparitively smoothly are the operations of the Xanthalian banks, which were forced to close their doors to outside investment three months ago. A profit loss over the first eight weeks of the regulation has levelled off, and shows signs of stabilizing for good. The Xanthalian Ministry of Economics was in posession of over 476,000,000 shares of international stock last December.
With the decisive IFTA review now only twelve days away, the Xanthalian government is looking to tie up the last loose end of the agreement, and has scheduled the conclusion of operations and abandonment of 322 facilities used for trade and joint research projects outside Xanthalian borders over the next five days. Though there have been a great number of stumbling blocks, the Xanthalian government is making excellent progress and the Triumvirate has promised that Xanthal will be in full compliance with time to spare before the review. "It's currently looking like we'll be done by the nineteenth, five days before the IFTA review board arrives. Our focus in those last five days will be cleanup. Though public order has been maintained throughout this time of turmoil with the hard work and effort of the Xanthalian police, there are going to be problems reconciling new economic policy with old for some time to come," said Triumvir Atachi Kyomino in a public address today. "I have full confidence in the Ministry of Justice's ability to deal with these conflicts in a fair and decisive manner."

The Socialist Union of Kerla comends Xanthal for trying to achive fair trade. We know that with the signing of the IFTA, Xanthal will achieve fair trade and the workers will to subjected to better conditions. We, as a signtory of the treaty is willing to trade with Xanthal. We are always willing to help you. We are willing to help the Xanthalans, if the need arises.

Teresa Reinz-Murphy
Director of Corporations & Labor

Xanthalian Daily Update (national newspaper) report:
Things have cooled down a great deal over the last twenty-four hours, and the Xanthalian government has confirmed that it is ready for the IFTA review, now only two days away. Plans in the Ministry of Development are currently in development regarding the disposal of the hundreds of now-unused space stations under Xanthalian control. While some will be sold, it is expected that the majority of them will be scrapped.

I see so Xanthal is trust worthy only at an whim then they stab their trading partners and their allies in the backs. The miner's faction is just going to love this not to mention the merchant factions and other political factions. Fair trade bah.

~Grand Duke Ivan

We have stabbed no one in the back. We are well within our rights of sovereignty, and while we regret any negative effects on the the affairs of other nations there is no legal force that compels us to trade with anyone. We are changing our policy, and our trading partners will just have to deal with it. We still maintain our alliances, just as we always have. We can still donate money and items to our friends, even though we cannot trade. The Triumvirate refuses to accept any blame for others' anger over this situation.
-The Xanthalian Triumvirate

This from the people who have broken trade treaties, those are legal agreements which you have violated with multible countries by breaking them with out warning or agreement on both sides to do so. How can Xanthal even be trusted when they break treaties even if they are just trade treaties. The Xanthalian Triumvirate is fully to blame and Teritora and other countries have every right to blame them for breaking the treaties.

~King Doran

Communism! Socialism! Fair trade!

All impracticalities.
When it comes down to it, a wise prince should always seek to gain advantage over others. If one gives advantage or even fairness to another, you have pointlessly weakened yourself, your regime, your personal power and that my friends is the very omen of defeat.
A wise ruler should always stay one step ahead of the people and even commit acts that may be considered evil to secure that power, necessary evil. A ruler that is feared is far better than a ruler that is liked. Good favour can vanish in an instant but fear is deeper and more profound than pitiful love.
Not to say that the people should be made miserable either, one should have the support or at least the tolerance of the people in order to survive as ruler.
I warn you.

~Prince Nicholas VII
The Principality of Machiavellian Dream

Teritora:
OOC: Wrong. Go check. You won't find a single binding trade treaty still in existence in which Xanthal is legal party. They used to have dozens, but they were all invalidated en masse a couple RL months back in a forum announcement. If you go digging, the thread probably still exists.
IC: We had no legally binding trade treaties with any nation prior to this point. We had agreements to trade goods freely. There was no requirement that we give anyone notice before we changed our policies.
-The Xanthalian Triumvirate

Machiavellian Dream: This government has survived for hundreds of years without incident. We are no less strong now than we have ever been.
-The Xanthalian Triumvirate

Machiavellian Dream: This government has survived for hundreds of years without incident. We are no less strong now than we have ever been.
-The Xanthalian Triumvirate

Complacency is also unwise and has led to the decadence of nations and the shifting of power.
Yet another free warning.

~Prince Nicholas VII
The Principality of Machiavellian Dream

Machiavellian Dream: This government has survived for hundreds of years without incident. We are no less strong now than we have ever been.
-The Xanthalian Triumvirate

Complacency is also unwise and has led to the decadence of nations and the shifting of power.
Yet another free warning.

~Prince Nicholas VII
The Principality of Machiavellian Dream

Monarch fool!

Anyhow, that is pretty dumb there. That kind of philosophy only works with stagnant monarchies.

Teritora:
OOC: Wrong. Go check. You won't find a single binding trade treaty still in existence in which Xanthal is legal party. They used to have dozens, but they were all invalidated en masse a couple RL months back in a forum announcement. If you go digging, the thread probably still exists.
IC: We had no legally binding trade treaties with any nation prior to this point. We had agreements to trade goods freely. There was no requirement that we give anyone notice before we changed our policies.
-The Xanthalian Triumvirate

Machiavellian Dream: This government has survived for hundreds of years without incident. We are no less strong now than we have ever been.
-The Xanthalian Triumvirate

OOC:I couldn't find it and never saw it, but I'll take your word for it. Blast if I had known I could have RP something with Tirah sooner, since Xanthal was an major trading partner for them. Oh well.

TNNN(Tirah National News Network) Broadcast:

General riots have broken out across Tirah after the formal annoucement of Xanthal's ending of trade with Tirah and other trading partners. Nearly an third of all exports and half of Tirah's imports came through with Xanthal and it expected that the Xanthalian action will throw Tirah into depression. Leaders of the merchant, craftmen, farmers and miners factions are outraged and are currently pressing for Grand Duke Ivan to do something about this major threat to the Tirah economy. In other news the War with Zrion is continuing to rage as the the Zrion relentless press their war of agression against Tirah, it is still unknown why the war started but...

Upon analyzation of Xanthal's decision to uphold the IFTA ban on external trade, I will advise to the Council of Yut that the Socialist Republic's membership in that treaty makes it ineligible for membership in the Triumvirate of Yut. The essential conflict between the belief in free trade between Yut signatory nations and the limiting no-external-trade policy of IFTA is mutually excluding and therefore as long as there is membership in one there cannot be membership in the other as not all Yut nations are members of IFTA and all do not have any plans on joining.

It is my recommendation that Xanthal establish internal checks and balances on determining the appropriateness of trade with other nations rather than residing in such a limiting treaty; however, that is merely a personal opinion that does not reflect the otherwise non-extant opinions of the government of the Federated Segments.

http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/projects/nationstates/scolopendra/ralph_spoilsport.gifAdvisor Ralph Spoilsport
International Trade Section
Federated Segments of Scolopendra

OOC: Heh. The Triumvirate is so going to regret ever pursuing this... The whole Scolo thing only makes it better. Time for phase three.

IC: The review date upon the Socialist Republic and conflicts of intrest with outside nations still holding back a complete compliance, the Triumvirate has asked the IFTA review board to grant the nation more time to fully comply. Meanwhile, the Xanthalian Council is preparing to vote to block the nation's entry to the IFTA. "It was a good idea, but these repercussions and unacceptable," said the Minister of International Affairs today. "The Triumvirate is going to throw our old allies away, but I want to assure my people and the people of the international community that that is not going to happen. Tomorrow I will be putting forward a motion to block Xanthalian entry into the IFTA indefinately, a motion that will pass and end this madness!" The cheering crowds that ushered him out drowned out the sound of gunfire. The assassin that atttempted to take the minister's life was unsuccessful, and has been arrested; but this is only one more sign of the internal and external tension tearing at the fabric of the nation. We'll keep you updated as what is now being called the Battle for Xanthal continues. This is XNN, your only official source for national news.

After a long and fruitless debate, the Xanthalian Republic has withdrawn from the IFTA and reopened its trading routes. However, advice from Scolopendran Advisor Ralph Spoilsport has been taken to heart and all parties wishing to engage in trade with the Socialist Republic must obtain approval from a special cross-ministry board from this point forward. Xanthalian ports will still have unrestricted access for all traders. We would like to take the opportunity to apologize for the chaotic situation in Xanthal over the past few weeks, and hope that trade can continue normally from here on out.
-The Xanthalian Triumvirate and Council