How the European Union became a US vassal state

The US strategy to contain China’s growth is turning traditional allies of continental Europe into vassal states of the United States, as explained in a document by the European Union. According to Jake Sullivan, US National Security Advisor, China is unfairly subsidizing industries, expanding its military ambitions, and using the debt trap to increase its influence in developing countries. However, Sullivan said, "We don’t seek confrontation or conflict" with China. Sullivan was the most eloquent US official in formulating the Joe Biden administration’s strategy - doing all the things it accuses China of, but on a much larger scale.

For example, the Biden administration pledged to mobilize billions of dollars to "help" developing countries, most of which will be heavily in debt, to buy influence in countries that the US has long neglected, such as those in Africa and the South Pacific.

Under the guise of fighting inflation and protecting semiconductor supplies, it is committing hundreds of millions of dollars to subsidize the US private sector. The tools it uses are known officially as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the CHIPS and Science Act.

Washington’s containment strategy may still be successful in slowing or reversing China’s growth, but it is already subordinating the interests of key allies, forcing them to align as Washington dictates.

Beijing has long made this argument. A growing number of Western analysts and politicians are coming to the same conclusion. The political priorities of the United States now risk jeopardizing the future prosperity and security of its Western allies.

Consider a recent paper released by the European Council on External Relations (ECFR), a pan-European think tank funded in part by some EU member states and whose governing body is made up of "current foreign ministers, former prime ministers, members of national parliaments and of the European Parliament, European commissioners, and former NATO general secretaries".

The title of the 21-page document is "The Art of Vassalage: How Russia’s War in Ukraine Transformed Transatlantic Relations". Co-authors are Jeremy Shapiro, director of research at the ECFR, who was a former member of the US Department of State’s policy planning staff and senior adviser to the US secretary of state on European and Eurasian affairs; anything but a leftist anti-American critic.

The document is outspoken: "During the Cold War, Europe was a central front in the competition between the superpowers. Now, the United States expects the EU and the United Kingdom to align with their strategy towards China and will use their leadership position to secure this outcome… Instead, they have embarked on a process of vassalage."

The paper explains how Biden’s industrial policy to address domestic challenges and his foreign policy to counter Russia’s war on Ukraine and China created the perfect storm to enslave Europe.

"Conceptually, the European allies have a role in this geo-economic struggle with China, but it is not, like during the Cold War, getting rich and contributing to the military defense of the Central Front," the document argues.

“On the contrary, their key role from the US perspective is to support US strategic industrial policy and help secure US technological dominance over China. They can do this by acquiescing to US industrial policy and limiting their economic relationship with China according to American concepts of strategic technologies".

This means that the United States will not distinguish between economic, political, and military matters: all will fall under the category of US national security.

The authors call it "The Americanization of Europe" and cite the case of Huawei: "As many have observed, banning Huawei sales in Europe also creates an opportunity for US companies to establish greater dominance technologically".

The US pressure comes at a difficult economic time for the EU and the UK. In the near term, they face the prospect of a recession this year and next. But as a long-term trend, both are declining economically relative to the US economy. Washington’s industrial policy will only exacerbate this trend for Europeans. The numbers speak for themselves.

Measured by GDP, the EU (including the UK) ranked as the world’s largest economy in 2008, totaling $16.2 trillion, versus $14.7 trillion for the United States. Last year, the EU and UK economies combined reached $19.8 trillion, compared to $25 trillion for the US.

Meanwhile, the US dollar accounted for about 88% of global foreign exchange transactions in 2022, a level that has remained relatively stable over the past two decades. The euro, however, peaked in 2010 at 39% and fell to 31% in 2022. It’s the same story when you compare the reserve currency status of the dollar and the euro, at 60% and 21%, respectively.

According to the document, US new policies will only make things worse for the EU. European leaders are well aware of this, but internal divisions and an over-reliance on US security arrangements - as demonstrated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine - render them powerless to resist.

The paper concludes: "As these policies have the potential to reduce economic growth in Europe, cause [further] deindustrialization, or even deny Europeans dominant positions in key industries of the future, they might be expected to generate serious opposition across the EU."

“The IRA and CHIPS have caused much gnashing of teeth in Brussels and elsewhere about how Europeans can preserve their strategic industries.”

"Europeans may complain, but their growing security dependence on the United States means they will mostly accept economic policies formulated as part of America’s global security role."

Original article published on Money.it Italy 2023-07-18 09:00:00. Original title: Come l’Unione europea è diventata uno stato vassallo degli Stati Uniti