Supermergers

[edblysard]

Wabash1
I think what you are remembering is that any company from outside the United States is required to incorperate and form a seperate American company if they wi***o do business in here. An exapmle would be automobile companies, like Nissan.
When they first started selling Datsuns here, note how it was always through your local dealer?
As time went on, and sales increased, they started building their own dealerships, incorperated as Datsun of America, a complety American company which was required to purchase the cars from Datsun in Japan, pay import taxes on the cars when they got here, and they had to operate just like an American company, following all the laws, and paying all the taxes an American company does.

As for purchasing land, any foreign company may do so, after they incorperate here as a American company, meaning all the money they make stays, for the most part, here in this country.
They have to pay all the fees and taxes, and are forbidden by law from sending all of their profit outside the country.
They are required to bank here too, although they may use an American branch of a international bank.
Their records and business praticies are scurinized as closely as any other company, and they have to abide by American laws.

Foreign companies may purchase an American company, but it must continue to operate as an American company, following all the laws required of a comapny started here.

Most other nations have some sort of reciprical laws, note the story in Trains magazine about the SP line that ran through Mexico, it had to incorperate as a Mexican company, and like most companies that incorperate here, it was required to employee local personnel. Same applies to CN, the trackage they operate here is incorperated as an American company, has local offices here, pays American taxes on their land and profits.

What may have some confused is the fact that a person not born of United States Citizens may not run for or hold the office of President or Vice President of the United States.

Some states also required railroads to incorperate as companies in that state.
Texas had such a law, until somewhere in the mid 30s, if you wanted to operate a railroad in Texas, you had to form a company here, have offices here, act like and pay taxes like a company operating solely in Texas.
Hence the SP's Texas and Pacific, Rock Island's Fort Worth and Denver, the old Texas and New Orleans...

So why would a foreign company want to come here if it cant take all the profit and send it home?
Well, back to cars. Look at Datsun, or Volkswagon. They started out by selling their cars to local dealers, who had to pay import taxes on the cars. But the cars sold, like hotcakes!
The American dealers realized how much money they could make, and began to purchase franchises(dealerships), which operate as, and are, American companies.
They have to purchase the cars from the manufactors, pay the import fees and taxes, and the sales and profit taxes, but the companies are American owned and run.

So Datsun, and Volkswagon realized they could sell a lot of their cars here, it made it worh while to invest here, they built plants, incorperated as American companies, and now you have Volkswagon of America, and Nissan Inc., both of which outsell their parent companies.
They employee thousands of Americans, pay huge tax bills for their lands and profits, and are run as seperate companies from their parent companies.
Most, not all, but most of the Nissans sold here in America are made here, by Americans to be sold to Americans.


Why go through all that?
Because the demand for their product is here, we buy more of their cars than all other sales worldwide, just in America.
Funny, but Nissan has become more of a American company then a Japanese company, thats one of the reasons they changed their name from Datsun to Nissan.

Remember the Ford 351 engine? There was a 351 Windsor, and a 351 Cleveland block.
One made here in America, and one made in Wndsor, Canada.
Ford paid a tax on every Windsor block that came into the country.
But the cost was minimal, comparied to the profit saved by building it there, even though it is just across a river from the plant that makes the Cleveland block.
Dodge Plymoth Chrysler have made parts for all of their cars in Canada and Mexico, and ship them here for assembly, the savings on production cost outweighs the import taxes paid.

Foreign companies discovered the same thing, they can make more money here as American companies, that at home, even with all the fees and taxs they have to pay.

And it works both ways.
Ford owns British Leyland, the Land Rover guys. Jaguar, Aston Martin all of thoses companies are part of Ford of Europe.
On the other hand, Damiler Benz, the Mercedes folks, own Chrysler.

Stay Frosty,
Ed

[wabash1]

This is not totaly off topic. but maybe someone can tell me when and how it come about. back in the day.( many moons ago) it was either civics or history or buisness class ( in highschool who remebers) it was against the law ( federal i think) for a foreign company to own american company or own land in america. then somewhere in the 80s ( not sure) here comes all these over seas company building plants buying land building plants and running this country. now railroads such as the canadian national are in this country . what gives. maybe ed can shed light on this.

[wabash1]

This is not totaly off topic. but maybe someone can tell me when and how it come about. back in the day.( many moons ago) it was either civics or history or buisness class ( in highschool who remebers) it was against the law ( federal i think) for a foreign company to own american company or own land in america. then somewhere in the 80s ( not sure) here comes all these over seas company building plants buying land building plants and running this country. now railroads such as the canadian national are in this country . what gives. maybe ed can shed light on this.

[Willy2]

I think that BNSF-NS will be the next supermerger.

Willy

[Willy2]

I think that BNSF-NS will be the next supermerger.

Willy

[Anonymous]

What will be the next supermeger
NS-BNSF?
CN-CSX?
CP-UP?

[?][?][?]

Its cazy I tell ya!!! [:p][:p][:p]

[Anonymous]

What will be the next supermeger
NS-BNSF?
CN-CSX?
CP-UP?

[?][?][?]

Its cazy I tell ya!!! [:p][:p][:p]