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EU officials don't understand the current trade war. The US keeps coercing EU companies, buying them out by force (Alstom), pushing them out of markets (Iran),

by wazoox 8y ago

EU officials don't understand the current trade war. The US keeps coercing EU companies, buying them out by force (Alstom), pushing them out of markets (Iran), using extortion against EU banks, generally pressuring the EU in the position of an obedient vassal; but the EU doesn't get it, at all. That's a tragedy (for us Europeans). Eu officials are completely bought into the free market ideology and "gentle commerce". Nowadays strategic companies are even sold to the Chinese, because "free markets". Morons. EU is inept, useless. It's quite saying that Russia, with its limited means, limited population and GDP inferior to Italy, successfully kept its digital independence (mostly).

temp-dude-87844 8y ago
A lot of core EU policies are based the neoliberal "gentle free markets" model of the world, like the rules to privatize infrastructure, transport, and telecom. They're largely to allow an EU-wide market where protectionism applies at the level of the entire bloc and not at the level of individual countries, but they are easily taken advantage in an asymmetric setting. It's not unlike how US companies go into China to show growth, yet complain about the coercion and theft of their IP, as if these happenings weren't an open secret. The US takes advantage of EU's tech landscape being worse paid, more regulated, and less nimble, and takes advantage of the difficulties of policing the interaction between users and Internet-delivered services. China takes advantage of the naivete of the EU and the greed of the US. Other players, like Russia, UAE, and Qatar play a similar game, but unlike China they don't use hardware and software, but stick to property ownership and influencing hearts and minds.
- wazoox 8y ago
  Except that no protectionism at all happens at the EU level, because officials are completely clueless. Or bought-out, I don't really know. that's my point when I say that they're useless, toothless really.
katanaman 8y ago
Had the chance to live a few years in western Europe and I was shocked at the servility of the European institutions to the American interests. In Europe nobody dares to criticize clearly and openly the ways of the US, not even the communists. No wonder Obama was a huge hit in Europe. Perhaps this explains why most Americans think of Europeans as a spineless and weak I'm not leftist at all but I have to admit that Chavez had more balls than the whole western Europe

by wazoox 8y ago

temp-dude-87844 8y ago

A lot of core EU policies are based the neoliberal "gentle free markets" model of the world, like the rules to privatize infrastructure, transport, and telecom. They're largely to allow an EU-wide market where protectionism applies at the level of the entire bloc and not at the level of individual countries, but they are easily taken advantage in an asymmetric setting. It's not unlike how US companies go into China to show growth, yet complain about the coercion and theft of their IP, as if these happenings weren't an open secret. The US takes advantage of EU's tech landscape being worse paid, more regulated, and less nimble, and takes advantage of the difficulties of policing the interaction between users and Internet-delivered services. China takes advantage of the naivete of the EU and the greed of the US. Other players, like Russia, UAE, and Qatar play a similar game, but unlike China they don't use hardware and software, but stick to property ownership and influencing hearts and minds.

wazoox 8y ago
Except that no protectionism at all happens at the EU level, because officials are completely clueless. Or bought-out, I don't really know. that's my point when I say that they're useless, toothless really.

katanaman 8y ago

Had the chance to live a few years in western Europe and I was shocked at the servility of the European institutions to the American interests. In Europe nobody dares to criticize clearly and openly the ways of the US, not even the communists. No wonder Obama was a huge hit in Europe. Perhaps this explains why most Americans think of Europeans as a spineless and weak I'm not leftist at all but I have to admit that Chavez had more balls than the whole western Europe