The same is being exposed in Europe since the war in Ukraine. The sanctions that the USA coerced the EU to impose on Russia is backfiring on all cylinders. It exposed the vulnerabilty of Europe's dependence on Russian energy, and they are planning to add more misery for themselves moving forward.
The sanctions failure is evident and now morphing into using the oil and gas price cap as a toothless weapon against Russia. By imposing oil price cap on Russian oil, it was clearly going to be a catastrophic failure, with barely only few countries in the EU in favour, while the rest of the world are not participating, and are benefitting, particularly China, India and Saudi Arabia with even cheaper oil and bigger discounts.
The intention of introducing a price cap on gas is even more problematic now, with Qatar threatening to cut off all gas exports to the EU if they put the plan into gear. Many are asking if EU leaders are sane or just trying to scare Putin. Russia has already planned to move it's energy exports eastward and away from Europe, since the Ukraine War and even after that. Russia knows as long as the USA wants the energy market in Europe, and the Europeans can do nothing, the USA can have it for good, if the Europeans can tolerate the price and its effect on industries.
The oil price cap was an idea floated by Janet Yellen loosely, and they lapped it up as a realistic and pragmatic approach to cut off Russian funding for the Ukraine War, and it is definitely not going to be effective. It was and idea, as always, plucked from the air on the spur of the moment, and will face failure from the start without the rest of the world participating. And no country outside of the G7 are as silly as the EU leaders to take such a step.
As I mentioned above, all these actions are just exposing the vulnerablities of the West as they try to strangle Russia. And Putin is just watching and capitalising on such vulnerabilties the longer the standoff continues.
Anonymous
PS. When Europe is not oil producer and needs to buy oil, can a buyer insists on a lower price and the seller must sell to him when the seller can sell to other buyers at higher price? The insanity is that they may have to buy at much much higher prices from the US when there is no seller willing to sell at the asking price. RB.
The biggest insanity of the EU leadership is trying to impose a price cap on Russian oil and gas, while not having the guts to impose a similar price cap on USA oil and gas, and continue to be ripped off blindly by the USA by continuing to pay exhorbitant prices for USA energy. Stupidity really has no cure!
ReplyDeleteI intend to buy a small car. Can I impose a price cap, say S$100 on the COE and S$200 on the car?
ReplyDeleteHi Anon 11.18
ReplyDeleteWant to pay COE less than $200.00 or even at $50.00?
Simple. Just simply disallowed all the Cars and other vehicles operators and Companies from bidding in the COEs biddings.
Then all the Cars and other Vehicles buyers simply in cahoots just hello for this coming bids let's just bid $0.20 cts hoh
Agreed? Confirm. Double Confirmed.
Cheers. It's all these Vehicles Companies are killing the consumers.
And the Papies simply enjoyed the Dramas of yourselves killing yourselves as the Vehicles Selling Companies are bidding what's you suckers pay, NOT they pay!
The house always wins.
ReplyDeleteJust tell HDB to cap 5 rm flats at $100k. This is how clever the Europeans are. Brilliant logic and thinking. Invite them to be our government. And can only pay them $100k a year, maybe the PM would be $300k a year.
ReplyDeleteCheap and good. This is like a Singapore Dream.
Power logic is the cleverest logic.
ReplyDeleteSingaporeans should demand that minister's cap their own salaries.
ReplyDeleteThe UAssA and their Cronies still thought that they are the Masters of this Universe and that all must still obey their Rules Based Orders.
ReplyDeleteNOT realising that they are going to be Papuers soon.
That's why they gian png that Russia and even OPEC+ must sell their Oil to them at US$60.00 French Caps.
Hello want cheap then crawl to Putin and beg him lah.
Putin will put in his shaft and maybe consider.
These Barbarians are still living in their olden days when they thought that the Natives and Others will still kowtow to them
Maybe the Japs and the South Koreans and Sinkieland Leaders but NOT the others.
Even poorer Africans shown them their fingers NOT to exploit them again.