Among ten European countries that are collapsing,
Germany and France are now among the PIGS - Portugal, Ireland, Greece
and Spain. Germany was the Industrial Powerhouse of the EU before the
Ukraine War, leveraging on the cheap energy from Russia. Angela Merkel
realized this and called for the construction of the Nord Stream 2
pipelines, only to see it destroyed by Olaf Scholz. And with it the
destruction of Germany's Industrial base. Who would have seen this
coming for such an illustrious and Industrial Germany conquering not
just Europe, but the world.
The USA had all along harbored its
intention to lure manufacturing back to the USA, and the Ukraine War and
the energy sanctions was the straw that broke the camel's back for
Europe. Europe now buys energy three to four times the rate they were
getting from Russia. Now that is all gone for good.
And who is
making a killing and laughing all the way to the bank? The USA of
course. Not only is the USA now selling expensive energy to Europe, but
it is also stealing the jobs of Europeans with subsidies to lure
European manufacturing to set up factories in the USA. Will Olaf Scholz
dare to squeak about the USA stealing German jobs, just like the USA
accusing China of doing that? Of course not, as Olaf Scholz is just a
puppet on a string, doing the job of destroying Germany to please his
master.
Anonymous
Japan is getting worse economically. The weakening Yen is a big problem as Japan has to import most of its oil. Adding to its problem is the expected shrinkage of Japan's exports to the USA which will get worse under Trump. Trump's intention to add tariffs on goods from every country, friend or foe is going to affect Japan and China most of all.
ReplyDeleteJapanese goods are expensive for competing in the Global South countries anyway and can only sell well in the USA and EU market, its biggest. Escalating tariffs will hit Japan hard. But Trump is not going to care. It is always USA first under Trump. Japan can continue to avoid by building more factories in the USA. But relying only on the USA market is not the way forward.
Chinese goods are cheaper for the Global South and China may be affected by Trump's tariffs, but not on the scale of Japan, as there is the Global South for China to exploit.
Japan will end up like the EU. Being an enemy of the USA is dangerous, being its friend is fatal. Time for Japan to find out the hard way.