Well there's a weaponization of the judicial system and a religious sect called "Christianity."
If you label yourself thus, you get free forgiveness miles.
Did you just argue for free trade? Because I think you just argued for free trade.
That would be your job. I prefer pointing out the hypocrisy and myths:
But, then, the idea of America as a bastion of the free market, whose corporations achieved global success simply by relying on the animal spirits of capitalism and the sheer ingenuity of garage inventors à la Steve Jobs, is largely a myth. Everyone knows that Silicon Valleyâs transformation into a hotbed of innovation, and the subsequent rise of the US tech industry, was made possible thanks to massive funding from the US government and military during the Cold War. Elon Musk is only the latest in a line of supposedly self-made garage inventors who have actually built their tech empire with the help of billions of dollars in US government subsidies. Just last year Tesla received $7.5 billion from the US government.
China, then, isnât really doing anything different from what the US has always done. But America is riled because China is winning. And having taken up the role of âfree tradeâ defender â accusing the Biden administration of âimped the normal functioning of global industrial and supply chainsâ â Beijing is forcing the US to take an increasingly protectionist stance.
This peculiar reversal of roles is paradigmatic of the significant global economic and geopolitical power shift underway. âFree tradeâ generally tends to benefit the dominant economic power, at the expense of weaker economies. It is no coincidence that the US began preaching âfree tradeâ only after it achieved economic dominance, in the mid-20th century, after resorting to heavily protectionist measures to support its manufacturing sectors, just as Britain had done before it.
When Donald Trump introduced a series of tariffs on Chinese goods, just over five years ago, Joe Biden was among his fiercest critics. Trump, he said, was âcrushingâ American farmers, workers and consumers by sparking an âirresponsible trade warâ, and he vowed to reverse his âsenseless policiesâ. But once in power, Biden did the exact opposite: he actually strengthened Trumpâs protectionist policies, launching âa full-blown economic war on Chinaâ.
Last week, that war escalated to near-nuclear level as the White House announced massive tariff hikes on a raft of Chinese imports â including 25% on steel and aluminum, 50% on semiconductors and solar panels, and a staggering 100% on electric vehicles (EVs). The move, they say, is in response to âChinaâs unfair trade practicesâ. The US accuses Beijing of using hefty government subsidies to flood global markets with artificially low-priced exports. By imposing its swingeing tariffs, the US hopes to create âa level playing-field in industries that are vital to our futureâ, and âensure America leads the worldâ in these sectors.
Itâs pretty ironic that Biden is attempting to level the playing-field by embracing similar tactics to Beijing. His administrationâs much-vaunted Inflation Reduction Act includes almost $400 billion in subsidies (through grants, loans and tax credits) aimed at boosting the US cleantech sector. So Bidenâs attempts to paint China as a rogue nation using ânon-market practicesâ to âgame the systemâ seem driven by fear that the Chinese subsidies risk nullifying the effect of Americaâs own subsidies. (...)
Did you just argue for free trade? Because I think you just argued for free trade.
When Donald Trump introduced a series of tariffs on Chinese goods, just over five years ago, Joe Biden was among his fiercest critics. Trump, he said, was âcrushingâ American farmers, workers and consumers by sparking an âirresponsible trade warâ, and he vowed to reverse his âsenseless policiesâ. But once in power, Biden did the exact opposite: he actually strengthened Trumpâs protectionist policies, launching âa full-blown economic war on Chinaâ.
Last week, that war escalated to near-nuclear level as the White House announced massive tariff hikes on a raft of Chinese imports â including 25% on steel and aluminum, 50% on semiconductors and solar panels, and a staggering 100% on electric vehicles (EVs). The move, they say, is in response to âChinaâs unfair trade practicesâ. The US accuses Beijing of using hefty government subsidies to flood global markets with artificially low-priced exports. By imposing its swingeing tariffs, the US hopes to create âa level playing-field in industries that are vital to our futureâ, and âensure America leads the worldâ in these sectors.
Itâs pretty ironic that Biden is attempting to level the playing-field by embracing similar tactics to Beijing. His administrationâs much-vaunted Inflation Reduction Act includes almost $400 billion in subsidies (through grants, loans and tax credits) aimed at boosting the US cleantech sector. So Bidenâs attempts to paint China as a rogue nation using ânon-market practicesâ to âgame the systemâ seem driven by fear that the Chinese subsidies risk nullifying the effect of Americaâs own subsidies. (...)
Reuters was unable to determine the impact of the secret operations or whether the administration of President Joe Biden has maintained the CIA program. Kate Waters, a spokesperson for the Biden administrationâs National Security Council, declined to comment on the programâs existence or whether it remains active. Two intelligence historians told Reuters that when the White House grants the CIA covert action authority, through an order known as a presidential finding, it often remains in place across administrations.
I know! Really! That nasty expansionist Taiwan pressing its territorial claims on its neighbours and building island fortresses on submerged island reefs. Absolute blight on the face of Asia.
Do you honestly think you are not? Like some voice of ideologically-sanitised criticism here to point out everyone else's internal contradictions and bias? srsly?
It doesn't fit prominent tribal dichotomies/narratives?
Do you honestly think you are not? Like some voice of ideologically-sanitised criticism here to point out everyone else's internal contradictions and bias? srsly?