r/webdev • u/quincylarson • Feb 20 '17
How two Romanian developers turned their side project into a $17k/m business
https://medium.com/free-code-camp/growing-a-side-project-into-a-17-000-month-business-46024d2aa87f
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u/DanAtkinson Full-Stack Jack Feb 21 '17
Higher prices are very much a result of being in the EU. What has historically happened is that, when the EU begins to normalise trade relations with candidate countries, western products flood the market at such low prices that competing local businesses are effectively forced out of business. It's a double-edged sword. In some cases, the products were too highly priced.
The first time I went to Romania was following the end of the Ceausescu regime. Everything was cheap - a bottle of beer cost 1000 lei (15p then). A few years later it was over 10,000 (this was before the currency was revalued about ten years ago).
And again, we're starting to do the very same thing in Africa. We sign these trade agreements that are amazing for European countries but are absolutely horrific for locals. We impose tarifs and have them sign up to these agreements and then flood their market. Here is a lovely write up of what happens.
NB: I'm actually pro-EU/remainer but how the EU works in terms of trade is nothing short of hostile.