10 Comments

1. I think I agree with all points made by the author.

2. Distance alone dictates that Europe has a light relationship with Taiwan. Actually with China as well. During the Boxer Rebellion in the late days of China's Manchurian dynasty, Japan sent in a full division or more (>14k) Russia sent perhaps two brigades (~8k) One of the eight countries sent in 30, a platoon.

3. Europe's strong business relationship with China today was because of the same reason as in the US: capitalists wanted to exploit cheap labor in China while selling in Europe with minimal price reduction.

4. After manufacturing was hollowed out, the only short-term solution was for the EU to launch a new fiat currency, and use strong regulation to consolidate within the EU. It is no different from a poorly managed company circulating a lot of junk bonds and trying to remove internal duplication and friction. This might work if the entire EU has a single culture, a single language, and hopefully a single religion. Most importantly, after such a reorg, Europe as a whole typically would become a smaller company and needs to start growth, if possible, from a lower rung. What actually happened is the opposite. EU rides high with the "G7" and still pretends to be a colonial empire collectively.

5. The author correctly focused on TSMC to characterize the change in EU-Taiwan relationship over the years, and to gauge the future. However, I would like to point out that the success of TSMC has many reasons, the personal charisma of Morris Chang, or his cult, and the timing when TSMC was formed w.r.t. Taiwan's economy and education rising, TSMC's generous reward structure, etc. You can imagine TSMC as Schlumberger of France or Saab of Sweden, or Fiat of Italy (not sure about the last one, correct me). It carries national pride and attracts the best technical talents. It is not difficult to transplant Fab running techniques, but it will be hard to transplant such spirit. After a while, TSMC fabs outside of Taiwan (including those in China) would all fall back to the average. Europe has its own fabs, and AMD has had multiple then top-notch fab in Dresden. However, Morris Chang dared to move against the Board of Directors to increase Capex during recessions and increase R&D when TSMC was already leading. I cannot imagine any of the European semiconductor companies or TSC fab transplanted out of Taiwan to be run this way. Morris Chang agreed with Andy Grove, but most other semiconductor leaders merely paid lip service to Andy Grove's motto: Only the paranoid survive. Note that Mr. Grove used the word survive, he did not use the word succeed. That is the correct characterization of the semiconductor business.

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"......I don’t think Washington intends to kill the European goose since it needs its golden eggs. Due to US-EU trade and security relations, the US too would be hurt if the European economy collapsed,......"

I believe this view is wrong.

The US is already engineering the collapse of the European economy, by removing the cheap energy supply of piped gas from Russia and instead selling the EU LNG gas at 4-5x the price and 2-3x the emissions. Note that the US is even selling the EU gas at prices HIGHER than it is sold in the US.

In an energy crisis? And AFTER forcing theEU to put sanctions on Russia too?

If the US actually wanted the EU to thrive it would not have jacked up the prices in that way.

On top of all that the US is sweeping up investment from European capital owners and companies to establish factories in the US instead of the EU.

Europeans need to wake up. The US is not incompetent. This is deliberate ravaging of the EU.

Note that when the US has savaged Europeans relationships with China and Russia, it does not matter if EUropeans are suffering - the US can force them to buy products such as the gas from the US, at these high prices and more weapons too. Th EU will have to impoverish its people to pay for this. The US......does.....not....care how they get paid, they simply insist on getting paid. That is vasaslhood.

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The US is weakening the economy of EU states to ensure they will not become strong competitors again. But as vassals they are very useful.

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Indeed they are useful, but that does not mean the US cares if they thrive. All it cares is that it can squeeze obedience money from them.

Whether that comes at a cost of living standards or happiness, the US des not care. Just it it cares not about its own people.

That is what the surveillance and security state (that Snowden’s revealed across “9 eyes”) for: to surpress all dissent.

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Of course Washington doesn’t care about living standards in EU countries. But a collapsing economy doesn’t just affect living standards. It’s contagious.

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I think you will find that chaos and political turmoil and hardship for the many….is actually intended in US policy, not an unfortunate side effect.

Look at the UK. That is actually what the US has engineered there. A the US policy makers are very happy with the job they have done in the UK.

Continental Europe is next victim.

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The EU is not a victim, it’s a junior partner in crime and as long as the US needs it, it won’t engineer its collapse. The working class suffers the consequences of EU vassalage, but elites as well catered for.

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It’s not as if any elite in Europe has the autonomy to chart its own course. They would be of course up on fake charges in a few days if they tried.

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There is no partnership. Other than spousal abuse. The US is ripping Europe to shreds.

Because it controls the fake leaders in Europe like Von der Leyen, Baerbock, Stoltenberg, Rutte, Kalashnikov, Starmer all of whom are obviously assets of US three letter agencies. Not in any way working on behalf of the people of Europe.

When the US can destroy a multi billion Euro gas pipeline full of cheap gas and then improverish European people by selling them its own gas at 4-5x price, this is flat out abuse not a “partnership” at all.

I understand it’s horrible to contemplate but this is the situation.

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