| This is a not-squat article worthy of the days when Pravda wasn't the Weekly World News, except... I was struck by the contrast between Putin, trying to come up with ways to strengthen Russia's fishing and shipbuilding industries and the B.O. regime's cavalier destruction of 23,000 American jobs in association with the BP oil spill. I can't imaging any official of the current administration, much less His Excellency Himself, saying similar things. "Jobs" remain generic except for when they're "green" and they're only discussed with union members, then forgotten as soon as the union guys are out of earshot. |
(Itar-Tass) — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has suggested additional support to the construction of fishing vessels in Russia.
"I think we should take additional measures in support of the construction of fishing vessels. We can build modern fishing vessels, and we should probably have a separate program to that effect," he said.
A fisherman told Putin that they were worried by terms of fishing quota distribution, which would enter into force a decade from now. Then fishing quotas will be given to those who buy locally produced vessels and sponsor domestic shipyards.
The fisherman said that domestic shipyards were not competitive right now and it was cheaper to buy ships abroad.
Abolition of certain benefits may be harmful for domestic shipyards, Putin said. "That is a universal question. Our airlines ask for the possibility to buy Airbus and Boeing jetliners and for levying the zero duty on imported aircraft. If we do that, we will lose the domestic aircraft building industry," he said.
"It is the same with the shipbuilding industry. If we stop developing our shipyards, we will lose the knack and will never do anything. Competition is extremely tight on the world market," he said.
"Our policy must be balanced. We must permit imports at some point and tell potential clients that terms will be tightened later on," he said.
Putin noted that it would be possible to import only those types of vessels that would not be built in Russia.