On the evening of the 21st local time, the Elysee Palace, the French presidential palace, French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a banquet for many European entrepreneurs. Ericsson, Volvo, Unilever and other corporate executives were among the attendees. However, this is not a festive dinner, but a bitter retention. Macron just wants to send them a message: stay, don't go.
The next day, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire lamented at a press conference: "Right before our eyes, the United States is developing its own industry on its own soil." We must defend European corporate interests more firmly. "Today, more than ever, politicians in France and Europe are worried about companies leaving Europe and about Europe's industrial system being hollowed out by the United States.
European companies are facing a severe existential crisis due to soaring energy prices and higher production costs in Europe. According to the President of the French Metallurgical Industry Union, Eric M. Trapière's statement said gas and electricity bills could "go up fourfold" on average. The relatively stable energy prices in the United States, coupled with the use of the Inflation Reduction Act to generously subsidize local companies, European companies have no choice but to "defect" and have flowed to the United States.
In Germany, Volkswagen announced expansion in the United States; In France, Dunkirk, the largest aluminium smelter, announced a 20% cut in production; In the Netherlands, the fertilizer company OCI is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to build factories in the United States..."Industry is fleeing Germany!" Handelsblatt warned.
The heightened risks of deindustrialization in Europe have saddened European policymakers. Since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, Europe has followed the United States in launching several rounds of sanctions against Russia, only to become the biggest victim. On the other side of the Atlantic, the United States, the initiator of the crisis, watched the fire from afar, and also took advantage of Europe's deep energy crisis to make a wool. For example, $60 million worth of liquefied natural gas shipped to Europe sold for $275 million, more than tripling.
Not only that, but the United States also poured salt into European wounds. In August this year, the United States introduced the Inflation Reduction Act to provide high subsidies for local electric vehicles, but excluded companies from the European Union, Japan, South Korea and other countries. Under unfair terms, the attractiveness of the European electric vehicle industry has weakened, and related companies have moved to the United States.
More and more Europeans see clearly: from using the Russian-Ukrainian conflict to curb Europe's strategic autonomy, to making a fortune through the energy crisis, to hollowing out the European manufacturing industry to feed itself, the United States originally played these calculations! Some netizens commented: "This is not only sucking European blood, but also cutting European meat." ”
Europe, which came to its senses, was furious. Macron criticized the United States for engaging in "trade protectionism". German Economy Minister Habeck bluntly said that the United States is raiding Europe. EU officials have also accused the United States of violating WTO rules. On the 22nd local time, France and Germany issued a joint statement, saying that they would protect European industries and boycott the "Inflation Reduction Act" of the United States.
In fact, since World War II, the alliance system created by the United States has been a tool to protect its own interests and hegemony. From using "long-arm jurisdiction" to suppress companies such as France's Alstom, to imposing intellectual property tariffs, weakening the competitiveness of European manufacturing, to extorting chip supply chain confidential data from companies such as Samsung... The United States has never relent in its suppression of allies. As the European Modern Diplomacy website puts it, the United States is "imperial capitalism" that "exploits other countries to survive and develop" through various means.
Europe is tied to the mast of American power, confirming time and time again the phrase, "With such a friend as the United States, who needs enemies?" "France is particularly aware of this. In September last year, the United States and Britain jointly cut off a large deal of $66 billion for nuclear submarines signed between France and Australia, and "stabbed France in the back." Macron said angrily: "Europeans must lose their innocence. We need to show the ability to protect ourselves. ”
Bitterly, European countries began to fight. For example, in response to the United States' practice of attracting allies to suppress China's semiconductor development, Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Schreinamaher said that the United States cannot dictate to the Netherlands, and the Netherlands will not "copy American measures one by one." At the same time, many European countries have voiced their opposition to "decoupling and breaking the chain". This shows that, after careful consideration, European countries are making increasingly rational choices in international affairs.
In the United States, on the other hand, the hegemonic "America First" strategy is driving allies away. European countries are trying to break the inertia of "dancing with the United States" and seek strategic autonomy. The dinner at the Elysee Palace is a clear signal.
(International Commentator)
Source: International Sharp Review