China Unable to Cope with Tariffs Burning Factories Down Instead Episode #262
Added 2025-05-12 14:47:51 +0000 UTCChina Unable to Cope with Tariffs Burning Factories Down Instead Episode #262
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lol reached the character limit eh
Moshcoffee
2025-05-17 16:12:11 +0000 UTCI’m reminded during that awful school kid piece which seems to be a part of the America is the enemy campaign of the Saudis back in the day. We seem to have a problem dealing with frienimies with economic clout though it was kind of the reverse situation with the Saudis. I’m which the government funded extremist religious schools they sponsored across the Middle East and the domestic curriculum were viciously anti-American / western. While the Saudi government has traditionally been a close functional ally and partner due to economic & military ties as well as a shared geopolitical foe. There isn’t the same dynamic the Soviet Union the shared geopolitical foe is gone and all that’s left is the same kind of economic ties. Which due to CCP manipulation and theft are self destructive in a not dissimilar fashion to the Saudi oil ties that were described as a self harming addiction. America has used its technology to become the world’s largest energy producer so the Saudis no longer have the same disproportionate amount of influence where we just had take bad behavior. Yet we don’t seem to have a good answer for this kind of bad behavior among partners and I think it contributes to the isolationist backlash we are seeing that’s so destructive to our allies. If you can’t or won’t stand up to a bully’s bad behavior because you are in business with them one might finding themselves lashing out at their wife and friends when they annoy them because they have repressed anger issues. I know I’m over simplifying the picture and our current leadership is impulsive, ill-informed and prone to governing by instinct but we didn’t get here overnight. An interesting dynamic to think on as powerful economic and political figures like Musk have deep business ties to China and there for the CCP. It’s symptomatic of a greater issue of our manufacturing and supply chains being deeply imbedded in China and the massive investment that many of our largest businesses have there. At a time when wealth inequality and concentration of economic clout is in the hands of a smaller and smaller number of companies and individuals, we need to ask ourselves important question’s. Though unfortunately the administration is squandering the opportunity to make a reevaluation and realignment of economic priorities and alignment by fighting with everyone all at once. A united front to soften economic pain that would undoubtedly come from a trade war with China to achieve a corrective solution to theft of intellectual property and government economic manipulation such as dumping and currency manipulation. Unfortunately we have not had a good answer to bad economic behavior by our trading partners for a long time which again I think unfairly colors the debate. Japan used be a big currency manipulator in a very tightly controlled fiscal economy that borrowed from its wartime structure until its restructuring in the 80’s. The Princes of Yen had a very interesting take on the Japanese economic crisis of the 80’s and the East Asian financial crisis of the late 90’s. Where US pressure to adopt free market principles saw the collapse of the Cold War economic order of our economic and treaty allies in East Asia. Democracies like Japan, South Korea and Indonesia may well want to adopt a model like the US that has seen a massive increase in wealth. Despite all of Japan’s success from 1945 - 80’s its living standards were behind America’s despite a very robust and vibrant manufacturing economy. With the Cold War pressure to keep our allies stable and non-communist gone there was a policy shift. However it was a collaborative policy shift that required a willing and eager partner on the other side. Dealing with authoritarian governments like China who take worst lessons from the growth strategies of Japan, South Korea & Taiwan for their own. Like currency manipulation and dumping and add it to it’s already long list of bad behavior in the domestic social sphere and in terms of international relations. Well that’s something I have not yet heard a good answer from policy makers. A complete decoupling of the US from China would mean a severe recession in America and complete economic collapse for China. The nation which is already preparing itself for conquest of Taiwan a nation which holds all the high technology resources a faltering China would need to make a break for economic independence. Much like the oil embargo of Japan for its war in China led to a dramatic acceleration of war between the U.S. and Japan. Whose leaders were faced with either a humiliating climb down or go all in and instead of invading a independent Philippines in 1946 as planned they tried to bloody the US bad enough that it would accept the conquests and peace out. History doesn’t repeat but it does rhyme and while there is every reason in the world to stop letting ourselves be taken advantage of by a bullying CCP. We need to be smart and not alone when we do it while we still have time to prevent a war over Taiwan. Alienating all our allies and kowtowing to Putin over a ceasefire in Ukraine is handing a roadmap to Xi, Kim Jong Un and the Ayatollah. America and a united west with a strong Europe is a collation that “axis of evil 2.0” will think twice from starting a war with in a desperate gamble to go all in. America alone weak and divided is a temping target if it’s just capitulated to Russia over Ukraine. Fortunately we’re starting to see some glimmers of hope that the administration gets it even if the president has a hard time getting there himself. The funeral of Pope Francis is looking to be increasingly important as Trump isn’t constantly embarrassing himself on a daily basis by jumping after the insults Putin is constantly throwing at us. While it appears the adults in the room JD Vance, Marco Rubio and Susan Wiles were able to get the administration to move on the India - Pakistan crisis. Walking back and contorting through mental gymnastics to deal with two nuclear armed powers stuck in a series of escalations that they didn’t want but felt they had no choice but to go ahead with until they had the excuse of the US interceding. I may be wrong about this but it feels at least that the president has shut the hell up since he may have tipped the Papal conclave into electing an American pope. Strategically the church has every reason in the world to want to focus on Asia. There are possibly more Christians in China than any other country and the only churches allowed officially are mouthpieces of the communist party. While the Philippines is an up and coming nation that is rabidly catholic and has a booming population. Now there is a pope who embodies the values of Francis and an American focus someone who I won’t say words like can’t or won’t but a fight with the Pope would be toxic and divisive to the n’th degree. The president has shut up and appears to be trying to show progress on keeping his trade war from becoming a disaster for America which is exactly what he should be doing because he has a long long way to go.
Colin Love
2025-05-12 17:34:16 +0000 UTC
