Ah, Ian I was hoping for something definite. I believe you are correct and economics was the key. I just don't think it to have been economically feasible to import tubes in the rough from Germany for a semi-price point longarm. The fact of the matter may just be that Germany was importing rough Belgian tubes for their utility or standard examples and a U.S. importer decided to cut out the middle-man.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
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