From: johnl@iecc.com   
      
   >>Glad I could help clarify that pesky difference between the US and   
   >>Australia.   
   >   
   >Is there some reason why there wouldn't be commerce in common with Australia   
   >and New Zealand, given proximity to those countries and not to US?   
      
   Because it's part of the US, uses US money, and has no tariff barriers   
   with the US.  Its main exports are canned tuna and football players,   
   both of which go to the US.   
      
   >Do you really believe there's no commerce between American Somoa and Somoa?   
      
   A little, not very much.  They're both small poor island groups   
   dependent on trade with and subsidies from their rich sponsors.  Samoa   
   mostly exports coconut products and workers who send back remittances,   
   The main market is New Zealand, which ran Samoa from 1914 when they   
   took it over from Germany until 1962 when it became a separate   
   country.   
      
   (It's Samoa with an "a", you know.)   
      
   obRail: there is no rail-based trade between American Samoa and Samoa,   
   since there still aren't any railroads on either.   
   --   
   Regards,   
   John Levine, johnl@iecc.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",   
   Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. http://jl.ly   
      
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