The Tariff Threat Has Caused Every Country to Rethink Self Sufficiency: An inventory of imports reveals where the strengths and weaknesses exist. Closing that gap would create a healthier economy. But given the sheer size of the populations such as in China, or the lack of land resources in Japan, alter the simple trade equation.
After WWII, Japan shifted to a manufacturing economy and flooded the market with what were deemed ‘cheap goods’. Toyota’s were the poor man’s automobile. Then in the late 1970’s China began to flip market offering a new kind of cheap which made Japan’s goods higher in quality. And magically, Japan was no longer making cheap products although nothing else changed.
The EU is battling China because they want to implement a ‘per package fee’. They don’t call it a tariff, they call it a fee, because this name change will protect them from the media radar. The EU is desperate to find new sources of revenue to pay for their forever war with Ukraine. One of the EU’s biggest resources is agriculture. Poland and Romania dominate. Farmers are aging out in the EU – putting risk on the market to be able to sustain these exports.
Ursula Von Der Leyen decided that Russian energy must be eliminated inflating energy and fertilizer costs unsustainably for farmers. Farmers protested. She balked and stated that cow farts were the cause of greenhouse gases contributing to climate change. So she put a ‘tariff’ on beef. In other words, the EU is doing everything possible to eliminate agriculture.
As a result, beef prices in the EU are significantly higher than the US with Switzerland topping the list at 300% greater than the US.
The most valuable resource is water. In Europe, most water is abstracted from surface waters. Around 75% of total water abstraction is from rivers and reservoirs, and 25% from groundwater. Most of the fresh water is in the northern countries with agriculture consuming roughly 60% of all freshwater. The second largest share of water usage goes toward electricity and gas.
Italy, Portugal, Crete, Sicily and Spain experience severe water scarcity. Germany has been increasingly subject to water scarcity in the last two decades which has led to water wars. When sanitizing water for consumption, 3 gallons of water will result in 1 gallon of purified water. Across the EU bottled water is the preference.
Too often politicians, like scientists, focus on aspects that ignore the reality of importance. What ‘benefit’ will Ukraine provide the EU? What does that benefit cost? According to scientific institutes – the greatest reason for the EU supporting Ukraine’s war is ‘collective security’. The second greatest reasoning states, “The benefits for European citizens, members or potential members of the EU, are tangible: faster economic growth, deeper social integration, and elevated education in engineering and computer science.”
Security. Assumes Russia. Reality: Ukraine’s infrastructure and agriculture are dead. The soil is now highly toxic. It holds $324 billion in debt. Not including the $325 billion the US Taxpayers dropped. Over 6 million of its residents have become refugees and now live in northern Europe. The number killed in action is believed to top over a million. And rebuilding would cost $500 billion to $1 trillion.
In other words – there are no current benefits until Ukraine is completely rebuilt and its resources resume or are initiated toward productivity. The two REASONS as such do NOT exist.
Ukraine’s major source of freshwater is the Dneiper River. The Dneiper is sourced in Russia. It flows thru Belarus into Ukraine and then the Black Sea. If Russia built a series of dams that ended in Belarus – Ukraine would be nearly waterless. End of War – FOREVER.