What is being ignored is basic macroeconomics such as the Theory of Comparative Advantage which states that the net benefit to countries is the specialization i

What is being ignored is basic macroeconomics such as the Theory of Comparative Advantage which states that the net benefit to countries is the specialization in the production of certain types of goods and subsequent trade with each other instead of each country trying to produce everything domestically. This is literally the system the US built since WWII and what globalization is all about after the Iron Curtain fell. Of course, the US being at the center of all this trade as the military guardian of naval trade routes and financier of specialized production capabilities all across the globe. It was and still is a smart as hell play. But that's exactly why anyone hitting on any one part of that web of trade as being irrelevant is so... unimaginative: The fact is that it's NOT a zero sum game, but a system where everyone benefits if trade happens. There are some EU companies that can produce tech in some domains without much or any competition in the US (or think of semiconductors of Taiwan) and the same is true for companies in the US. This is literally Econ 101.