They have millennia-old experience haggling about carpets and other merchandise in the bazaar.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Obama's all-hat-no-cattle diplomacy

There is therefore still likely to be some haggling about the age below which untested beef can be sent to Japan.

ECONOMIST: An end to Japan's ban on American beef may be in sight

Thus, all of this haggling is about a number that will apply, at the earliest, to 2015 , and none of the numbers will be guaranteed!

FORBES: NFL Lockout Resolution: A Rookie Sacrifice

Haggling is not about price.

FORBES: Ten Ways to Recession Proof Your Career

America is about to publish the results of its decennial census, so 2011 will be a year of haggling over boundaries to reflect the new numbers, a process known as redistricting.

ECONOMIST: Electoral boundaries in America