5 ms·

It seems America is scared by mini-vans from Canada and sedans from Germany as well and pretty much anything that creates an economic gain for anyone other than

It seems America is scared by mini-vans from Canada and sedans from Germany as well and pretty much anything that creates an economic gain for anyone other than America. Huawei could pose a security threat but we already know by now that this is all about the economy and maintaining America's indisputed supremacy at all costs. After China, EU will be the next buggy man.

bracobama 8y ago
You know how a tyrant acts when he is losing control of his empire? He starts getting really insecure and conspiratorial. America's unipolar moment has passed and it's about time they acknowledge it instead of continuing to drown themselves in hubris.
- Shivetya 8y ago
  Don't assume this is anything new, and don't forget that many foreign nations have tariffs on imports as well. Plus another method used by past administrations was in using patent law to put up barriers to market. The Chicken Tax has been around for decades but manufacturers do work around it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax
- skh 8y ago
  This is one positive aspect of Trump’s presidency. He has definitively shown Korea, Japan, and Europe that the Pax Americana can not be relied upon as much as it once was. Those countries will have to start leading more and have a stronger voice. They may not like the accompanying expense and tough choices this entails but I welcome it.
  - huffmsa 8y ago
    There are a lot of us Americans who no longer want to be a crutch for the rest of the world. We'd rather be fixing our own domestic problems like our crumbling infrastructure. Trump campaigned on that.
    - rookonaut 8y ago
      One viewpoint is that the USA are a crutch to the rest of the world. Another viewpoint would be that this is based on self-interest. The USA bombing Iraq because Hussein wanted to sell oil in another currency other than the USD and leaving the so called rest of the world with the humantarian crisis would be one counter example to the crutch-theory.
      - skh 8y ago
        From my perspective it has become a symbiotic relationship. The U.S. maintains the Pax Americana at great financial expense but does so for the benefits it provides. It’s not an altruistic act. Europe and Japan get benefits too. One of the benefits for Europeans is that they get to avoid the messy moral situations that come from wielding such power. Go back to the mess in former Yugoslavia in the 90s to see how the Europeans made a mess of things trying solve it on their own. I don’t want to get into a debate on the merits o that intervention but the situation wasn’t resolved to the liking of the UK, France, Germany, etc. until the U.S. got involved.
        SomethingOrNot 8y ago
        []
        skh 8y ago
        Yes, among a host of other things. Churchill said the world must be made safe for democracy while denying freedom to India. Great power is very corrupting.
      - huffmsa 8y ago
        It's definitely a two way street, but there's less incentive now for the US to stay involved. We're a net petroleum exporter now, Texas of all places is adopting renewables like crazy (proving their viability), highly autonomous and mechanized manufacturing is almost comparable to outsourced production and we don't need soyuz for space launches (soon). All of that combined, plus the growing need to address our own impoverished parts of the country is making a lot of people in the US think it's time to let Europe do it's own thing.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - SomethingOrNot 8y ago
    []
    - skh 8y ago
      What is IR? I’m sorry I don’t understand what you are trying to say. It is my belief that one positive result of the Trump’s Presidency is that other nations have to confront the reality that Americans are willing/able to elect an incompetent psychopath. This forces them to realize that they can’t rely on American stability. We have become erratic and unpredictable. Hence they will need to become less reliant on the U.S. I see this as a good thing. I see the U.S. in a state of imperial decline and I’m glad for it. I’m not a supporter of Trump but I try to be objective and won’t deny that he’s done some good.
      - SomethingOrNot 8y ago
        []
        KineticLensman 8y ago
        To be fair, "IR" isn't a universally agreed acronym for International Relations. I for one hadn't heard it either.
        deleted 8y ago
        [deleted]
        skh 8y ago
        I did not know. Thank you for clarifying. Your second sentence is quite impolite. Clearly I have an opinion on international relations. It might be misinformed, poorly stated, foolish even but it’s clear I have an opinion. I suggest it would have been better to say, “You know, that topic you are posting about in a rather misinformed way.”. And then gone on to state how it was misinformed. As it is your post comes across as angry/bitter. Like you have an ax to grind so to speak. You sound extremist and I get the impression that you think I think of Trump as some benevolent leader.
- Farradfahren 8y ago
  The real scary part is, when the "my empire falls" moment turns into a "they shall inherit only ashes" downright nihilism. You can turn whole continents into civil war zones, if that is your legacy to your succesors.
laumars 8y ago
> After China, EU will be the next buggy man. I can see that happening too with the amount of anti-EU rhetoric happening at the moment. I mean I'm not going to defend every piece of legislation the EU has passed but some of the comments levied against the EU from their US counterparts have been down right hypocritical.
sonnyblarney 8y ago
Enough with the conspiratorial stuff here on HN. European auto makers have massive sales in the US as do Chinese manufacturers of all sorts of things. Given the proclivity of China to use their IT skills for all sorts of shenanigans, noted in the news daily, it's beyond reasonable for Western nations to be concerned about having a government backed entity 'in between' all of the most important information in the country. This is an issue that has to be worked out.
- thefounder 8y ago
  You don't understand. There are no "western nations" anymore. It's America First and everyone for themselves. Strong competitors are now a national security issue regardless if we are talking about Mercedes, Huawei or french cheese. Say good-bye to fair competition(if there was ever a such thing). There is nothing conspirational. It's the new foreign policy. China appers in the news b/c it's still the clumsy underdog. U.S has done the hacking and all the spy stuff for decades.

bracobama 8y ago

You know how a tyrant acts when he is losing control of his empire? He starts getting really insecure and conspiratorial. America's unipolar moment has passed and it's about time they acknowledge it instead of continuing to drown themselves in hubris.

Shivetya 8y ago
Don't assume this is anything new, and don't forget that many foreign nations have tariffs on imports as well. Plus another method used by past administrations was in using patent law to put up barriers to market. The Chicken Tax has been around for decades but manufacturers do work around it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax
skh 8y ago
This is one positive aspect of Trump’s presidency. He has definitively shown Korea, Japan, and Europe that the Pax Americana can not be relied upon as much as it once was. Those countries will have to start leading more and have a stronger voice. They may not like the accompanying expense and tough choices this entails but I welcome it.
- huffmsa 8y ago
  There are a lot of us Americans who no longer want to be a crutch for the rest of the world. We'd rather be fixing our own domestic problems like our crumbling infrastructure. Trump campaigned on that.
  - rookonaut 8y ago
    One viewpoint is that the USA are a crutch to the rest of the world. Another viewpoint would be that this is based on self-interest. The USA bombing Iraq because Hussein wanted to sell oil in another currency other than the USD and leaving the so called rest of the world with the humantarian crisis would be one counter example to the crutch-theory.
    - skh 8y ago
      From my perspective it has become a symbiotic relationship. The U.S. maintains the Pax Americana at great financial expense but does so for the benefits it provides. It’s not an altruistic act. Europe and Japan get benefits too. One of the benefits for Europeans is that they get to avoid the messy moral situations that come from wielding such power. Go back to the mess in former Yugoslavia in the 90s to see how the Europeans made a mess of things trying solve it on their own. I don’t want to get into a debate on the merits o that intervention but the situation wasn’t resolved to the liking of the UK, France, Germany, etc. until the U.S. got involved.
      - SomethingOrNot 8y ago
        []
        skh 8y ago
        Yes, among a host of other things. Churchill said the world must be made safe for democracy while denying freedom to India. Great power is very corrupting.
    - huffmsa 8y ago
      It's definitely a two way street, but there's less incentive now for the US to stay involved. We're a net petroleum exporter now, Texas of all places is adopting renewables like crazy (proving their viability), highly autonomous and mechanized manufacturing is almost comparable to outsourced production and we don't need soyuz for space launches (soon). All of that combined, plus the growing need to address our own impoverished parts of the country is making a lot of people in the US think it's time to let Europe do it's own thing.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- SomethingOrNot 8y ago
  []
  - skh 8y ago
    What is IR? I’m sorry I don’t understand what you are trying to say. It is my belief that one positive result of the Trump’s Presidency is that other nations have to confront the reality that Americans are willing/able to elect an incompetent psychopath. This forces them to realize that they can’t rely on American stability. We have become erratic and unpredictable. Hence they will need to become less reliant on the U.S. I see this as a good thing. I see the U.S. in a state of imperial decline and I’m glad for it. I’m not a supporter of Trump but I try to be objective and won’t deny that he’s done some good.
    - SomethingOrNot 8y ago
      []
      - KineticLensman 8y ago
        To be fair, "IR" isn't a universally agreed acronym for International Relations. I for one hadn't heard it either.
        deleted 8y ago
        [deleted]
      - skh 8y ago
        I did not know. Thank you for clarifying. Your second sentence is quite impolite. Clearly I have an opinion on international relations. It might be misinformed, poorly stated, foolish even but it’s clear I have an opinion. I suggest it would have been better to say, “You know, that topic you are posting about in a rather misinformed way.”. And then gone on to state how it was misinformed. As it is your post comes across as angry/bitter. Like you have an ax to grind so to speak. You sound extremist and I get the impression that you think I think of Trump as some benevolent leader.
Farradfahren 8y ago
The real scary part is, when the "my empire falls" moment turns into a "they shall inherit only ashes" downright nihilism. You can turn whole continents into civil war zones, if that is your legacy to your succesors.

laumars 8y ago

> After China, EU will be the next buggy man. I can see that happening too with the amount of anti-EU rhetoric happening at the moment. I mean I'm not going to defend every piece of legislation the EU has passed but some of the comments levied against the EU from their US counterparts have been down right hypocritical.

sonnyblarney 8y ago

Enough with the conspiratorial stuff here on HN. European auto makers have massive sales in the US as do Chinese manufacturers of all sorts of things. Given the proclivity of China to use their IT skills for all sorts of shenanigans, noted in the news daily, it's beyond reasonable for Western nations to be concerned about having a government backed entity 'in between' all of the most important information in the country. This is an issue that has to be worked out.

thefounder 8y ago
You don't understand. There are no "western nations" anymore. It's America First and everyone for themselves. Strong competitors are now a national security issue regardless if we are talking about Mercedes, Huawei or french cheese. Say good-bye to fair competition(if there was ever a such thing). There is nothing conspirational. It's the new foreign policy. China appers in the news b/c it's still the clumsy underdog. U.S has done the hacking and all the spy stuff for decades.