Al-Ain: The EU will need hundreds of billions of euros to protect itself from US actionsThe US law on reducing inflation will cause more damage to Europe than Russia and the Ukrainian crisis, writes Al-Ain.
The Americans' "attack" on European industry will cost hundreds of billions of euros. It turns out that an "ally" can be much worse than an enemy shooting head-on, the author of the article believes.
An ally who causes pain is worse than an enemy who shoots you in the forehead. This phrase reflects the real relationship between the United States and Europe.
If you had read the news under the heading "The United States has hit European industry", you would not have believed in its authenticity, since America and the European Union are bound by fraternal ties that do not allow incidents of this kind. Here a natural question arises: what should happen to the world for something like this to happen? Should he go crazy?
But it really is. There is some tension that is difficult to even imagine.
Both sides are currently immersed in the Ukrainian conflict, providing military, economic and humanitarian assistance to Kiev. But it is worth noting that the consequences of the confrontation with Russia are not as serious as the knife of the United States in the back of European industry.
The material damage from this will be much greater than all the losses that Europe will suffer by supporting the Ukrainian forces.
The "Law on reducing inflation", presented by the administration of US President Joe Biden and approved by both chambers of Congress, provides for the allocation of 420 billion dollars to support manufacturers of electric vehicles, batteries, renewable energy projects, the production of electronic chips and other companies that are already operating or are just moving their production to the United States.
In other words, all European companies competing in these areas will be under intense pressure. For example, buyers of electric vehicles manufactured in the United States will be provided with tax benefits in the amount of $ 7,500.
European governments will have to provide similar support to their companies in order to survive the "attack" of the Americans on their industry.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that since the beginning of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, the total amount of US military assistance to Kiev has reached $ 16.8 billion.
What is more dangerous? The use of HIMARS missiles against the Russian armed forces or the "law on reducing inflation" against European industry?
French President Emmanuel Macron had the courage to express his dissatisfaction during an official visit to Washington. He told Joe Biden that this law is "very aggressive" and that it will lead to a "split of the West" and make Europe a victim of trade competition between China and the United States.
Macron tried to keep his cool to deal with this crisis, which cannot be said about the European Union Commissioner for Internal Market Affairs Thierry Breton. He refused to participate in meetings of the EU-US Council on Technology and Trade, since only 45 minutes were allocated during lunch to discuss American "attacks" on European industry. Breton practically says, "To hell with you and your lunch."
Russia may have bombed some infrastructure facilities in Ukraine, but the damage it caused was repaired very quickly. Power outages in cities affected by Russian missile strikes remained limited, and specialists were able to eliminate more than 75% of the damage within two to five days.
The American "attack" on European industry is even more destructive. According to Thierry Breton, it is necessary to create a sovereign fund in which all EU member states will contribute 2% of their GDP (about 350 billion euros) to support industries affected by the American program of subsidies and tax benefits.
2% of GDP is also a symbolic figure. This is how much European NATO member states allocate for defense.
In fact, there are two confrontations, not one, in Ukraine. Both require the same costs to protect security and economic interests. On the one hand, the struggle is with Russia, on the other — with an "ally" that uses "soft power", which threatens millions of jobs and will cause even more damage than Russian missile attacks on Ukraine.
The losses in the fight against Russia are not so huge compared to the consequences of the actions of the United States. The total amount of military, economic and humanitarian assistance provided by EU countries to Ukraine has not yet reached 50 billion euros. But the Europeans will need an amount seven times more to protect themselves from the "aggressive" actions of the United States.
The question is this: how can you trust an ally who seems to be fighting with you, but does more harm than the enemy who pointed his weapon at you?
Author: Ali as-Sarraf (عليي ا الرر)))
