2 ms·

I don't think we're seeing a return to cold war dynamics at all. There's no clear lines. You can see it in the French and German reaction to Russia right now th

I don't think we're seeing a return to cold war dynamics at all. There's no clear lines. You can see it in the French and German reaction to Russia right now that has very little in common with the US, the reluctance of Japanese firms to actually move out of China at all. Even the US went ahead and fast-tracked a trade-deal with China in 2019, don't remember that with the Soviet Union. Two things are massively different compared to the cold war. One is that there's no ideological line between communism and capitalism, secondly there's no primacy of the state. Private actors carry significant weight and they have different interests.

tssva 5y ago
The US signed trade agreements with the Soviet Union in 1935 and in 1972. The Soviet Union and the United States granted each other most favored nation status. Many other western countries signed trade agreements with the Soviet Union which included most favored nation status.
- Barrin92 5y ago
  That one post-war trade agreement largely came down to Armand Hammer, a petroleum magnate having favourable personal relationships towards the Soviet Union. Overall trade between the Soviet Union and the US never exceeded 1% of the American GDP during the 70s and 80s and the countries where effectively decoupled. Obviously they weren't in any relationship one could legitimately call 'most favored' (which is a purely diplomatic term) given that we call the period the cold war for a reason. The relationship with China today is entirely different. The countries are extensively linked, with China being America's largest single trade partner outside of North America. 20% of American imports today come out of China alone.
  - tssva 5y ago
    The statement by the original commenter was that a trade agreement was made between the US and China and he couldn't remember that happening with the Soviet Union during the cold war. It did in fact happen. Whether significant trade actually took place is not the point.
belltaco 5y ago
> You can see it in the French and German reaction to Russia right now that has very little in common with the US That's because France and Germany are very dependent on Russia for energy, especially during the winter to heat homes, so they're playing the good cop. The UK isn't so, and is actually sending arms to Ukraine.

tssva 5y ago

The US signed trade agreements with the Soviet Union in 1935 and in 1972. The Soviet Union and the United States granted each other most favored nation status. Many other western countries signed trade agreements with the Soviet Union which included most favored nation status.

Barrin92 5y ago
That one post-war trade agreement largely came down to Armand Hammer, a petroleum magnate having favourable personal relationships towards the Soviet Union. Overall trade between the Soviet Union and the US never exceeded 1% of the American GDP during the 70s and 80s and the countries where effectively decoupled. Obviously they weren't in any relationship one could legitimately call 'most favored' (which is a purely diplomatic term) given that we call the period the cold war for a reason. The relationship with China today is entirely different. The countries are extensively linked, with China being America's largest single trade partner outside of North America. 20% of American imports today come out of China alone.
- tssva 5y ago
  The statement by the original commenter was that a trade agreement was made between the US and China and he couldn't remember that happening with the Soviet Union during the cold war. It did in fact happen. Whether significant trade actually took place is not the point.

belltaco 5y ago

> You can see it in the French and German reaction to Russia right now that has very little in common with the US That's because France and Germany are very dependent on Russia for energy, especially during the winter to heat homes, so they're playing the good cop. The UK isn't so, and is actually sending arms to Ukraine.