The new global poor, made in America
2024-08-19
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Criticism of the United States' abuse of unilateral sanctions continues.
Recently, hundreds of lawyers from around the world wrote to Biden, calling on the United States to stop using unilateral economic sanctions, saying that such a tool is equivalent to collective punishment of civilians and violates international law.
The United States has long been adept at using economic sanctions as a diplomatic tool. As the letter states, "collective punishment is a standard practice in today's U.S. foreign policy, in the form of extensive unilateral economic and financial sanctions."
Chen Fengying, a researcher at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told Sanlihe that the current focus of lawyers on the US sanctions policy against China is that the Office of the US Trade Representative announced in April this year that it would launch a "301 investigation" into China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industries, which is currently in the stage of soliciting opinions.
"As both WTO members enjoy the same most-favored-nation treatment, the tariff issue should be negotiated bilaterally. The US continues to impose additional tariffs on China on top of the tariffs it has already imposed on China. The seriousness of the problem needs to be viewed from a historical and rational perspective."
In the election year, the United States has set its sights on these three sectors again, no doubt in an effort to win votes. The U.S. steel industry is spread across swing states such as Pennsylvania, and the blue-collar workers in these "rust belts" are precisely the voting bases that the Republicans and Democrats are fighting over.
This is not the first time that the two parties have played the "China card" of imposing tariffs. But history shows that they often shoot themselves in the foot.
American consumers bore the brunt of the impact. Moody's previously estimated that American consumers bore 92% of the cost of the additional tariffs on China.
The US industry will also have to pay the bill. After the tax rate on port cranes was raised from zero to 25%, the American Association of Port Authorities said that this would sharply increase port operating costs and affect existing expansion and investment projects.
The US government's promise to protect jobs has also failed to materialize. The latest employment report showed that US non-farm payrolls increased by 120,000 in July, significantly lower than the 200,000 analysts predicted, and the unemployment rate rose to the highest level since October 2021.
Currently, the US is still fighting against inflation, and debt continues to grow wildly, with the total national debt exceeding 35 trillion US dollars. The backlash has already occurred, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for the US government to get rid of its dependence on sanctions. The Washington Post confirmed that the United States is currently the country with the most sanctions in the world.
Deeper and more harmful effects are also taking place. From a global perspective, sanctions can cause economic disruption, hunger, and reduced supplies of medicines and essential goods. Humanitarian organizations say sanctions make it more difficult to assist civilians and lead to instability and poverty in Venezuela, Cuba and other countries.
Dina Chuwara, associate professor at the Australian National University School of Law, said that the United States does not consider itself to be at war with the sanctioned countries, but what the United States does is considered illegal even in the context of war.
This is what the letter to Biden emphasized: while the use of sanctions is different from conventional warfare, "the collective impact on civilians can be equally indiscriminate, punitive, and lethal."
The United States, which has been wielding sanctions around the world, has not only hurt innocent civilians and created new poor people, but it has also been unable to avoid the "boomerang" of protectionism. Faced with surging opposition, the United States should pull back from the brink and turn back from its wrong path.
("Sanlihe" Studio)
