BEIJING, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Washington's aggressive strategy to contain China is inherently coercive. And its repercussions extend beyond China as Washington will lose in tandem with its allies in non-free trade and protectionism.
Washington's tactics often involve subtle threats and economic incentives, creating a toxic environment where countries feel compelled to conform to U.S. demands.
However, some of Washington's allies have come to realize that the U.S. coercion has trapped them in a dilemma where "America First" consistently takes precedence over their interests, undermining their trade freedoms and strategic autonomy.
Recent comments by Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Dirk Beljaarts have highlighted a growing frustration with U.S. pressure on semiconductor trade restrictions targeting China.
"The Chinese are an important trade partner, as is the United States and many other countries in the world," he said during his recent U.S. visit. "We have our own economy to keep up and to make sure that our companies can do business as freely as possible."
His remarks reflect the mounting grievance among U.S. allies constrained by Washington's tightening grip on global technology flows, particularly when many countries worldwide are struggling in a lackluster global economy.
The case of Dutch giant ASML exemplifies this challenge. ASML, Europe's highest-valued tech company with a market capitalization of around 240 billion euros (267 billion U.S. dollars), is now subject to U.S.-imposed export controls that threaten its business prospects and Europe's technological edge.
No wonder in a striking revelation, Peter Wennink, the former CEO of ASML, has recently characterized Washington's ongoing chip trade war as fundamentally "not based on facts or data, but on ideology."
As the United States is doing almost everything it can to marginalize China to maintain its global dominance, U.S. allies bear the brunt of these heavy-handed maneuvers.
Washington has enacted sweeping legislation such as the CHIPS and Science Act and invoked the Foreign Direct Product Rule, compelling firms worldwide -- as long as they use even minimal U.S.-origin technology -- to curtail their engagements with China. Amid such disruption, global semiconductor sales fell by 8.2 percent in 2023 from the previous year, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.
While Washington frames these protectionist measures as essential for its own national security, its allies are increasingly perceiving them as assaults on their rights to fair trade and economic independence.
In a March interview with Nikkei Asia, Japan's then Economy, Trade, and Industry Minister Ken Saito denied any plans to expand chip controls, stating he was "taken aback" by pressure from Washington. Japan's semiconductor industry, which suffered a heavy blow in the 1980s trade war with the United States, is now striving to regain its former standing, and is therefore wary of the potential fallout from forgoing the vast Chinese market.
As a founding member of the World Trade Organization, the United States has long claimed to champion free trade. However, its unilateral actions -- particularly the use of Section 301, a relic of the Cold War -- serve to politicize and weaponize trade issues, blatantly violating multilateral trade rules.
Despite widespread opposition, the U.S. government has recently decided to increase tariffs on Chinese imports, particularly on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), solar cells, EV batteries and other related products.
Emphasizing "Tesla competes quite well in the market in China with no tariffs and no differential support," Tesla CEO Elon Musk criticized the levies as "things that inhibit freedom of exchange or distort the market."
Washington is again coercing its allies into aligning with its restrictive policies on EVs, effectively hampering their ability to pursue beneficial trade relationships. By forcing countries to choose sides, Washington is undermining their sovereignty and restricting the freedom of their businesses to operate according to their needs.
Global auto industry leaders estimated that almost a quarter of their profits could be at risk from disruption in supply chains within a decade if the trade-war trends hold, according to a Barron's article.
As countries grapple with an ever coercive Washington, some are increasingly realizing that their autonomy is being compromised for maintaining American dominance.
As Dutch lawmaker Laurens Dassen lamented, "We're giving a clear signal to the world: The export of our products can stop if a country bothers the United States."
In an interconnected world, a healthy global economy relies on partnerships, cooperation and the ability of nations to maintain their own rightful interests. Washington's coercive policies not only jeopardize its credibility but also threaten the fundamental freedoms of any sovereign nations.
As Washington continues down this path of economic coercion, it is further isolating itself and alienating its allies while undermining the very principles of fair trade and collaboration that it claims to uphold. Such a strategy is destined to backfire in a world that thrives on interconnections and mutual respect.■
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