"Trade's a two-way street," Barnabas said with a smirk. "Once we start selling more abroad, naturally, more imports will follow. And don't worry about the other Ministries.
They've had their eyes on the British market for years. We've just been keeping the gate shut." he than added, "Frankly, they'll be thrilled to finally get a foot in the door."
Alex said nothing for a moment, but deep down, he could already sense the change coming, one that would put Wilson's Arcane Alchemica at the heart of something much bigger than just another marketplace.
"And naturally, your Wilson's Arcane Alchemica stands to gain a lot from this." Barnabas's tone turned serious.
"What we need from you is stable production, both in quality and in quantity. For the international trade items, the Ministry of Magic will be providing the raw materials. Of course, in return, we expect you to lower the price. After all, there will be tariffs added."
"Second," he continued, "your products must pass the Ministry's quality inspection. Only those that are approved and officially signed off may be sold. Also, any distributor you partner with must be properly licensed. We'll be watching."
When he heard the word tariff, Alex barely kept from rolling his eyes. Ah, there it is,the Galleon grab. He could practically hear the gears of bureaucracy creaking under the weight of greed.
'Tariffs, inspections, licensing… I've seen this play before,' he thought dryly.
Raise taxes on trade, wave a flag, and next thing you know, someone somewhere is launching a war over cauldrons and broomsticks.
He briefly recalled a memory from his old world, two titanic nations bickering over trade percentages like two kids fighting over who got the bigger slice of cake.
The tension had escalated until the entire global market was holding its breath. One of them had even slapped tariffs so high it nearly dragged half the world into an economic pit.
Who in their right mind imposes a tariff over 100%? And then cranks it up to 200% like it's a casual move?
The other side fired back with their own hikes until the numbers hit four digits. A thousand percent. On paper, it worded like trade negotiations, in practice, it was all-out war.
People had called it a "war," though not a single bullet was fired. Still, the fallout had been brutal. A Real World war that become the start of his nightmare.
'Well,' Alex mused, 'at least here, the Ministry just wants a cut of the action, not to hex anyone into oblivion.'
Still, having the Ministry provide the raw materials was a pleasant surprise. The most expensive part of his alchemy products had always been the materials and the electricity. But if he could handle the electricity with Muggle money and didn't need to pay for the materials, the production cost would be practically nothing.
With that in mind, even if he lowered the price, Alex realized he'd still make a tidy profit.
"Alright, no problem on my end," Alex said with a grin. "If the Ministry of Magic provides the materials, I'm willing to sell my products at a 30% discount from the original price. Of course," he added, eyes twinkling, "the 'original price' would be the one we negotiate with the Ministry on-site."
Barnabas raised an eyebrow at that. he knew exactly what he meant, he was offering to give the Ministry a 30% share of the profit. And with the discount factored in, the Ministry's total benefit would be even higher.
Alex had done his math. Even after giving up such a large chunk, he'd still come out ahead.
But Barnabas's expression was something else entirely, surprised and visibly delighted. A 30% discount meant the Ministry could take that entire cut as a tariff. He had only hoped for a 10 to 15% drop at best.
That would've already allowed them to add a bit more markup to the export price and still keep things moving. Say, if they sold an amulet for 10 Galleons abroad and earned 2 or 3 Galleons from it, that would've been considered a win.
Of course, this setup had its risks, like hurting sales, encouraging smuggling, or prompting people to undercut prices, but still, it was workable.
And now? With Alex offering a clean 30% drop, they could still sell that same amulet for 10 Galleons to international buyers, and the Ministry would pocket 3 Galleons straight off the top.
"Are you being serious? Won't this cut into your profits too much?" Barnabas asked, narrowing his eyes. he wasn't just asking for show, this deal would heavily influence the Ministry's stance in the upcoming international trade agreement.
The decisions made would affect the UK's position in magical trade for the next three years.
"Of course I'm serious," Alex said with a confident smile. "As long as I can break into the international market, even the smallest profit is still a profit. Besides, the Ministry of Magic, and Minister Bagnold especially, has given me so much support. It's only right that I give something back."
The way he said it sounded so genuine, like a hardworking, principled young entrepreneur willing to shoulder some risk for the greater good.
Barnabas chuckled and nodded approvingly. "Good lad. Starting tomorrow night, we'll begin redrafting our proposal for the international trade meeting. The heads of the Department of International Magical Cooperation and the Department of Magical Transportation will both be attending. I'll make sure they know exactly how sincere you've been."
After finishing his explanation, Barnabas gave Alex a firm pat on the shoulder, clearly pleased.
If everything went smoothly from here, Alex and his Wilson's Arcane Alchemica wouldn't just be seen as close partners of the British Ministry of Magic, they'd practically be considered family. No, scratch that. At this rate, he might as well be seen as the Ministry's Backer.
Elated after their talk, Barnabas didn't waste another moment. With an unusually bright expression, he led Alex straight to the banquet hall of the Egyptian Alchemy Research Center's headquarters.
The banquet hall was even more lavish than the main hall downstairs. Golden ornaments shimmered with potent magical energy, casting gentle glows that reflected off the polished stone floor. Countless magic atmosphere lamps floated in the air, radiating a soft brilliance.
Alex quickly recognized them, those were his products. Apparently, the research center had already bought quite a few magic lamps from him yesterday and had immediately put them to use here.
Just seeing them on display like this, lighting up the hall for all these high-ranking guests, was a perfect, real-time advertisement for Wilson's Arcane Alchemica.