
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 15, 1990                   TAG: 9003152272
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY BUSINESS EDITOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

EUROPE SAID TO BE EAGER FOR U.S. GOODS

European countries are demanding more U.S. products but this growing market is "a matter of price, quality and innovation," said Peter Mueller, a German scholar-in-residence at Radford University.

"We expect new things from the U.S. and when they come, I'm sure Europeans will buy," Mueller told a luncheon meeting at the Roanoke Airport Marriott. The session was sponsored by the College of Business and Economics at Radford.

If the U.S. dollar continues to fall against European currency, the U.S. trade balance will improve, he said.

Europeans have an open mind about all kinds of products, Mueller said; they will buy high-tech software, auto parts, small planes, electric gadgets and such sports equipment as fishing rods and golf clubs.

Mueller, an economist at Erlangen University and a Fulbright scholar at Radford this semester, said the approaching unification of West and East Germany is necessary. He said he is not enthusiastic about it "but I see the necessity."

East Germany will fall apart and its people will suffer if they do not unite with West Germany in elections scheduled Sunday, he said.

Yet German unification will change the character of the European Community, scheduled to take effect in 1992.

The consolidated Germanys will have a population of 81 million people, skewing the present balance. France, Italy, England and West Germany have about the same level of population, ranging from 56 million to 60 million people.

While differences in product standards among the European nations are expected to be ironed out by 1992 and progress will continue toward a single European currency and a central banking system, Mueller estimates that full political cooperation will take at least 10 more years.

"Until then, the chances for foreign businesses [in Europe] will improve."

Harmonizing standards for products ranging "from water pipes to lawn mowers" will simplify international trade, Mueller said.

Today, a U.S.-made toy that is shipped to France for instance, must be checked to see that it meets French safety regulations; if it goes to Germany, it must meet German regulations. After the dozen countries make their standards uniform, the toy will require only one safety inspection when it is shipped to the European market.

A unified Europe in 1992 "will not be a new beginning, a watershed or a new era but one more step toward economic integration," Mueller said.

by CNB