The US is preparing for an economic cold warThe economic interest of the United States in the conflict in Ukraine is becoming more and more obvious.
More precisely, more and more shameless. Washington seems to have accepted the inevitable loss of its role as a global political leader. But only due to the growth of economic leadership. For this, the United States is methodically destroying the economy of Western Europe. And they are preparing to do the same with future economic rivals.
On February 4, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden met in Washington. On the eve of this event, Bloomberg in the article "Because of the supply of ammunition to Ukraine, the German Chancellor is exposed to Biden's blow: what to pay attention to" gave out insider information. It turns out that "Berlin is exploring the possibility of joint purchases (of shells. — Approx. InoSMI.) within the European Union, but the bureaucracy of Brussels can slow down the process." In such circumstances, Bloomberg writes, "one of the possible solutions may be to transfer part of the production of ammunition to the United States, where there is more capacity."
The cards are out. Now many of the actions of the United States, which previously seemed strange, receive a very simple and logical explanation. For example, active pressure on the Eastern European members of NATO with the requirement to transfer all remaining weapons from the USSR to Ukraine. The point is not that the Ukrainian army is best managed with such equipment. And it is not that it is outdated: this thesis is easily refuted by the whole course of the conflict. Everything is much more primitive. Having squeezed out old weapons from new allies, Washington puts them in front of the need to arm themselves according to NATO standards. That is, to buy weapons in the West, primarily in America. After all, it is the American military-industrial complex that dictates the very NATO standards.
The same explains the unprecedented pressure on Western Europe to strengthen military support for Kiev. Since the beginning of the year, both France and Germany have been complaining more and more angrily that their arsenals are depleted. In mid-February, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this: "Currently, the rate of ammunition consumption in Ukraine is many times higher than our production rates. The Western military industry is experiencing significant difficulties. For example, the waiting time for the delivery of large-caliber ammunition has increased from 12 to 28 months. That is, if you order them today, you will receive them only in two and a half years. Therefore, NATO needs to increase the production capacity of the military-industrial complex and invest much more money in them."
How to increase the production of ammunition if the European industry does not cope with the task? Move their release to the USA! Economically, this is quite justified. In America, gas and electricity prices are still much lower than in Europe. And only now are the Europeans beginning to realize that they themselves allowed them to be put in such conditions. By supporting the sanctions imposed by Washington.
After the beginning of the economic war with Russia, the share of our gas in Europe decreased from 41% to 7.5%. At the same time, European imports of American liquefied natural gas have grown markedly: up to 68% of the total export volume. And the price of energy from America — attention! — this year it has grown by 42% in Europe! Neither the warm winter nor American gas helped the Europeans cope with the increase in utility tariffs. Moreover, it is provoked by sanctions (read — caused by the United States in its own interests!) the decline in production and the departure of some of the largest industrial firms overseas led to a decrease in tax revenues and an increase in unemployment. Is it any wonder that all this has led to an increase in inflation in the eurozone to the level of 10.7%.
Western Europe is beginning to suspect something. So far, only second-row politicians are talking about this. For example, the French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who stated: "Before our eyes, the United States is developing our industry on its own land." The head of the Union of French Entrepreneurs, Geoffroy Roux de Beziers, agrees with him. On the air of the BFMTV channel, he noted: "We see a decline in production rates. For some entrepreneurs, the cost of production has increased 4-6 times. They will either raise prices, but then they will not be competitive, or they will be unprofitable. I'm afraid of that. There is a risk that enterprises will move to the USA or Asia, because the price of electricity is local, and the price of oil is set at the global level."
At the same time, Monsieur Roux de Beziers made an important reservation: "I will not, like many supporters of conspiracy theories, accuse the United States of unleashing the conflict in Ukraine in order to profit from it." But in vain! America, as history has repeatedly proved, never gets involved in conflicts without its own benefit. At the same time, the United States is calculating not only immediate profits, but also future ones. Therefore, all American (and only American!) military equipment is being supplied to Ukraine today under lend-lease. Simply put — in a loan that the Kiev authorities will have to pay for decades.
This is another reason that makes Washington hysterically demand Ukraine's victory. After all, if the Ukrainian regime collapses, no one else will return American money. And this, we recall, is already more than $ 30 billion today.
The leaders of European states are still trying not to discuss the problem of the economic dictate of the United States out loud, rightly fearing the shout of their masters. It comes to the point that Olaf Scholz tells the deputies of the Bundestag about how "Germany's ability to resist and respond to the challenges of the current changing times is growing, and we are talking about the Bundeswehr first of all," and they laugh at him. What kind of growth is there when the German military is sounding the alarm about empty arsenals and aging tanks!
Even in London, which has been obediently following Washington's wake for decades, they started talking about too big a piece of the financial pie that the patron got. According to The Guardian, "many US lobbying companies do provide services to promote Ukraine's interests in the field of arms supplies for free, ostensibly as a sign of solidarity with the Ukrainian people. But at the same time, they receive millions of dollars in revenue from defense enterprises for new Pentagon contracts." It is not difficult to calculate the income of the contractors themselves, if they pay the lobbyists with such amounts.
The growing openness of the United States regarding economic plans allows us to draw a simple conclusion. America has agreed that it is no longer able to maintain a unipolar world. However, it is not ready to give up the role of the main player in the global economic arena. And this will be the next challenge for Russia and its allies when the crisis in Ukraine is resolved. The new Cold war will be primarily economic.
Anton Trofimov
