gives me this vibe, just replace erdogan with trump and turkey with, you know, the US
US Trade Dominance Will Soon Begin to Crack
Submitted 13 hours ago by floofloof@lemmy.ca to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.wired.com/story/us-trade-dominance-will-begin-to-crack/
Comments
gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de 3 hours ago
Etterra@discuss.online 12 hours ago
Isn’t it fun living through the decline phase of our civilization?
Buffalox@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
I never expected USA to self destruct like they are now. It’s absolutely insane!
Electing Bush Jr. twice was crazy, but electing Trump twice is insane.
Following the trend of elections for the past few decades, USA is on a path to become a totalitarian country.
The Democrats may win the next presidential election if there is one, but by the looks of things, when the pendulum swings again, that will be the end of democracy for USA.WanderingThoughts@europe.pub 10 hours ago
It was not unexpected. Most big powers in history end like that. The rich always want more and eventually start taking it from everybody else, even if it’s detrimental to the future if they nation.
fonix232@fedia.io 9 hours ago
It was inevitable and kind of expected.
The US wasn't built on that solid of a foundation. In fact the founding fathers have said explicitly that said foundation - the Constitution itself - should be a living document updated regularly by the people, for the people, to reflect the changes in the world and in the people themselves. It was literally written at one of the most prominent times of change, so of course those who saw said change and were responsible for enacting it, weren't idiots who thought things would never change!
The first cracks appeared in the US a hundred years later with the industrial revolution kicking into high gear and transforming the so far mostly rural, self-sufficient communities into manufacturing giants. That's when factory and mining towns began to boom, and when the US truly began to claim its world power status - without adjusting the laws of course since it benefited the handful few who managed to get their fingers deep into those oh so lucrative pies.
And it's not like there haven't been warning signs of the impending capitalist doomsday. Capitalism was literally built on the back of the industrial revolution (which allowed the means of production to transfer into and concentrate in private hands), and immediately people saw the issue with it - no wonder Marx saw the need to work out a competing socioeconomic system that, if you think about it, was truly in the spirit of the American independence and the US Constitution (aka by the people, for the people).
All that capitalist rush? That allowed a handful of people to become obscenely rich, without the curtails of previous obscenely rich (aka kings, royalty, nobles), allowing them to grab power without any of the responsibility. Kings paid with their heads for their wrong decisions, but in the US, that was deemed excessive, so instead y'all elected people who then got paid off by said obscenely rich to go against the people electing them... and the worst that happens was that the elected official got rich, then got replaced by another who got bought out the same way.
And all that money/power concentrated in such a small number of hands would ALWAYS lead to them wanting more and more until they sucked the host dry like a parasite. There's no symbiosis with capitalists because wealth (resources and man-hours) are finite, unlike their greed. And since the US made it harder and harder to amend the constitution, to make that document truly living and serve the people... The fall thus became inevitable.
IronBird@lemmy.world 7 hours ago
next we get Alsx Jones/Tucker Carleson ticket, which wins because establishment Dems give Hillary another shot
HazardousBanjo@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
This is what happens when 2 generations of lead poisoning brain rot compose the majority of the voting population while the younger generations adopt universal apathy and nihilism
rayyy@piefed.social 9 hours ago
USA is on a path to become a shit-hole country - FTFY.
clot27@lemmy.zip 5 hours ago
End of USA will be net positive for huan civilization and its not even close
vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 3 hours ago
No. It won’t be. But things change. Some buildings crumble. Some are reinforced and kept standing. Where there were streets, new buildings are erected. Where there were rivers and bulwarks, streets are made with pipes underneath.
So this particular building will have to change to avoid crumbling. Well, as it always happens.
MuskyMelon@lemmy.world 9 hours ago
Civilization? Nah just the collapse of one empire. The rest of the world goes on.
nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 hours ago
The collapse of the United States would have devastating effects on every other country
Valmond@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
I’m so happy to be in the EU. Good luck over there! BTW we had like 100 collapses and 1000 wars before we got to where we are…
Serinus@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
Don’t get complacent. The EU countries are toying with the idea of collapsing with us. AfD doesn’t seem to be shrinking, and there will be a lot of money and propaganda dumped that way soon.
I hope you’re better at resisting it than we were, but seeing as how we’re all still on vulnerable social media…
ISOmorph@feddit.org 10 hours ago
How can you say this with a straight face? All fascist parties have record numbers, workers rights are being targeted across the board, digital privacy is a thing of the past. We’re like barely half a step behind. The oligarchy doesn’t care about states or continents. The EU is on the menu just as much as the US
Buffalox@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
You know most Americans are descendants of that historical lesson too right?
Tattorack@lemmy.world 8 hours ago
Rather arrogant to believe the US falling means the decline of our entire civilisation.
Maeve@kbin.earth 4 hours ago
Lol; that's what the EU common people said about too big to fail, too.
ArgumentativeMonotheist@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
“Civilization” is a big word for a collection of selfish pillagers who barely tolerate each other. It’s certainly “fun” for the rest of the world, lol.
DupaCycki@lemmy.world 4 hours ago
Will soon begin? My brother in Christ, it’s begun at least 20 years ago.
HazardousBanjo@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
This shit wouldn’t be happening if Kamala had won.
teft@piefed.social 6 hours ago
America has been on the decline for 20 years at least. The Dipshit in charge has accelerated the decline via tariffs but we’d just be moving slower towards the drain with kamala in charge. She wasn’t exactly campaigning on large changes to the economy.
HailSeitan@lemmy.world 3 hours ago
Kamala would have defended DMCA and Big Tech to the death. The only difference might have been a little less crypto grifting, but it’s nonsense to suggest there would have been a major difference on the issues this article is actually discussing.
yakko@feddit.uk 1 hour ago
The trends and forces would have been no different, but it was a choice between a collapse of empire versus a soft landing a la UK. They chose collapse.
FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
What, exactly, wouldn’t be happening if Harris had won?
Nalivai@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
For example, neither batshit tarrifs, nor insane dissolution of trust, if we’re talking purely about international economics.
phoenixz@lemmy.ca 3 hours ago
That’s a bit of a disingenuous question, no?
What the hell do you think would not have happened?
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Doge?
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The unlawful deportations to random
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Ice?
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countries with torture prisons?
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War crimes in the Carribean?
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The multiple trade wars?
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The absolute dumping of all US allies off a cliff?
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Bombing Nigeria because reasons?
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The entire Epstein thing and the US president being a pedophile for the entire world to see?
And mind you, this is not a comprehensive list, I just gotta stop at some point or nobody will read it anymore.
Take a pick?
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nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 hours ago
The whole trade war thing i guess
hitstun@feddit.online 7 hours ago
This article is saying other countries should repeal their equivalents to the DMCA’s anti-curcumvention, just like Cory Doctorow says, and I agree too. The whole reason those counties passed DMCA-like laws was that we threatened to tariff them is they don’t. Well, now we’re tariffing them anyway. We’re no longer holding up our end of the bargain, and neither should anyone else.
Zos_Kia@lemmynsfw.com 5 hours ago
Yes absolutely. Not even repeal the laws, just quietly stop enforcing them and look away while loudly whistling. Doing anything officially will only anger the bully. Just count on the bully’s short attention span and inattention to detail.
RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 4 hours ago
Late to the party? A little slow? Where have you been, author?
rafoix@lemmy.zip 11 hours ago
That happened the second capitalists got a chance to move their factories to other countries.
clot27@lemmy.zip 5 hours ago
Praying for fall of USA🙏🙏
A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 7 hours ago
Over the past two decades, the office of the US Trade Representative–which is responsible for developing and coordinating US international trade, commodity, and direct investment policy—has pressured most of the world into adopting these laws, hamstringing foreign startups that might compete with Apple (by providing a jailbreaking kit that installs a third-party app store), or Google (by blocking tracking on Android devices), or Amazon (by converting Kindle and Audible files to formats that work on rival apps), or John Deere (by disabling the systems that block third-party repairs), or the Big Three automakers (by decoding the encrypted error messages mechanics need to service our cars). The rents that these digital locks help American companies extract run to hundreds of billions of dollars every single year. The world’s governments agreed to protect this racket in exchange for tariff-free access to American markets. Now that the US has reneged on its side of the bargain, these laws serve no useful purpose.
In 2026, many countries will respond to tariffs like they were still in the 19th century. But a few countries will have the vision, the boldness, and the political smarts to kick Donald Trump right in the dongle. The country that gets there first will enjoy the same relationship to, say, third-party app stores for games consoles, that Finland enjoyed in relation to mobile phones during the Nokia decade.
Hear, hear!
vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 3 hours ago
It would be good (and for the US as well), but it’s possible the ship has sailed.
See, such racket schemes, if we use the tone of the article which I mostly agree with, are benefit not only to such US companies. They have already become popular and they will continue to be used.
So no. Unless suddenly a few liberal-democratic revolutions happen and everyone suddenly feels peaceful and reasonable.
Rakonat@lemmy.world 9 hours ago
Trump didn’t cause it but he sure as hell accelerated its decline.
TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world 3 hours ago
Who’s going to dominate trade? Cos people are hoping it won’t be an authoritarian state like China.
Candice_the_elephant@lemmy.world 44 minutes ago
China is already the biggest trade partner of most of the world.
floofloof@lemmy.ca 3 hours ago
It’ll be China.
phoenixz@lemmy.ca 3 hours ago
Won’t be China for long anyways, I think India will dominate soon ish, and keep your eyes out for Mexico
Amnesigenic@lemmy.ml 3 hours ago
If by people you men feds and idiots sure, personally I’m looking forward to more high speed rail
kent_eh@lemmy.ca 3 hours ago
Why does any one country need to dominate trade?
A much better outcome would be that more countries have a larger number of trading partners rather than one behemoth monopolizing all trade.
froh42@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
Buffalox@lemmy.world 11 hours ago
Thanks. 👍 💖
HisArmsOpen@crust.piefed.social 11 hours ago
The US needs savvy voters. Or,, selfish voters who realise they are the farmed turkeys voting for Christmas.
timbuck2themoon@sh.itjust.works 1 hour ago
You can’t blame voters. Nope- it’s all the Democrats fault. /s
massive_bereavement@fedia.io 9 hours ago
Bbbut some will be pardoned at Thanksgiving!
HisArmsOpen@crust.piefed.social 1 hour ago
No one needs a pardon, they just vote for their self interests
Buffalox@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
Paywall.
floofloof@lemmy.ca 6 hours ago
A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 7 hours ago
just disable javascript.
Full article:
In 2026, the leaders of America’s (former) trading partners are going to have to grapple with the political consequences of tit-for-tat tariffs. A tariff is a tax paid by consumers, and if there’s one thing the past four years have taught us, it’s that the public will not forgive a politician who presides over a period of rising prices, no matter what the cause.
Luckily for the political fortunes of the world’s leaders, there is a better way to respond to tariffs. Tit-for-tat tariffs are a 19th-century tactic, and we live in a 21st-century world—a world where the most profitable lines of business of the most profitable US companies are all vulnerable to a simple legal change that will make things cheaper for billions of people, all over the world, including in the US, at the expense of the companies whose CEOs posed with Trump on the inaugural dais. READ MORE
This story is from the WIRED World in 2026, our annual trends briefing.
In 2026, countries that want to win the trade war have a unique historical possibility: They could repeal their “anticircumvention” laws, which make it illegal—a felony, in many cases—to modify devices and services without permission from their manufacturers. Over the past two decades, the office of the US Trade Representative–which is responsible for developing and coordinating US international trade, commodity, and direct investment policy—has pressured most of the world into adopting these laws, hamstringing foreign startups that might compete with Apple (by providing a jailbreaking kit that installs a third-party app store), or Google (by blocking tracking on Android devices), or Amazon (by converting Kindle and Audible files to formats that work on rival apps), or John Deere (by disabling the systems that block third-party repairs), or the Big Three automakers (by decoding the encrypted error messages mechanics need to service our cars). The rents that these digital locks help American companies extract run to hundreds of billions of dollars every single year. The world’s governments agreed to protect this racket in exchange for tariff-free access to American markets. Now that the US has reneged on its side of the bargain, these laws serve no useful purpose.
US tech giants (and giant US companies that use tech) have used digital locks to amass a vast hoard of ill-gotten wealth. In 2026, the first country bold enough to raid that hoard gets to transform hundreds of billions in US rents into hundreds of millions in domestic profits that launch its domestic tech sector into a stable orbit—and the remaining hundreds of billions will be reaped by all of us, everyone in the world (including Americans who buy gray-market jailbreaking tools from abroad), as a consumer surplus.
In 2026, many countries will respond to tariffs like they were still in the 19th century. But a few countries will have the vision, the boldness, and the political smarts to kick Donald Trump right in the dongle. The country that gets there first will enjoy the same relationship to, say, third-party app stores for games consoles, that Finland enjoyed in relation to mobile phones during the Nokia decade.
There are many countries with the technical nous to pull this off. Obviously, Canada and Mexico have pride of place, since Trump has torn up the USMCA agreement he arm-twisted them into in 2020, and heaped racist rhetoric on Mexico even as he threatened to annex Canada. Speaking of annexation targets with sizable communities of technical experts, the Danes could lead the EU out of the wilderness the bloc bargained its way into when they enacted Article 6 of the Copyright Directive in 2001. Then there’s the global south: African tech powerhouses like Nigeria, South American giants like Brazil, and the small, developed Central American states who’ve seen Trump renege on the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), like Costa Rica.
Retaliatory tariffs make consumer goods in your own country more expensive, and to the extent that they punish Americans, they do so indiscriminately, inflicting far more pain on soybean farmers than they do on the CEOs of the tech companies that back Trump.
Repealing anticircumvention law is a targeted strike on America’s most profitable companies, and it will have an especially severe impact on Tesla, whose hyperinflated price-to-earnings ratio reflects investors’ pleasure at the Tesla business model, which involves charging drivers every month for subscription features and software upgrades that expire when a car changes hands. Musk owes his power to the digital locks that keep this business model intact. If it were legal for mechanics all over the world to jailbreak Teslas and unlock all those features for one price, Tesla’s share price would collapse—taking with it the overvalued shares Musk uses to collateralize the loans he took out to buy Twitter and the US presidency.
In 2026, world leaders have a choice—to make things cheaper and better for all of us, or to fight Donald Trump with weapons that were developed in the Age of Sail.
hitstun@feddit.online 7 hours ago
Wired.com: You’ve read your last free article.
Me: You’ve run your last Javascript.
manxu@piefed.social 10 hours ago
Okay, the gist of the article is that the author(s) believe anti-circumvention laws protecting digital assets are going to be torn up. China is already showing that, a country where you are a fool if you pay for a Windows license and where you can buy bootleg media everywhere.
That doesn’t seem to be where the world is heading though. Instead, it looks like regulation is used more and more to affect monopolies, especially tech ones. Japan, the EU, and other players have mandated that Apple and Google allow other app stores on their phones.
I can’t imagine that governments around the world really have an appetite for an open (trade) war with the United States. Maybe if they banded together and decided to sort things out as adults, forcing the USA to face a united front.
FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
They already have. It takes 1.5 to 2 years for trade deals to be negotiated and then put into effect. In the coming years when these deals take effect, and trade is routing itself around the US as much as possible rather than through it, people in the US are going to learn a very difficult economic lesson.
On the plus side, maybe the notion of American Exceptionalism will diminish a bit, which is long overdue.
AlecSadler@lemmy.blahaj.zone 40 minutes ago
As an American, I can’t wait for the lessons learned and the death to American Exceptionalism. I look forward to reaping everything we’ve sowed due to our shitty actions (or complete lack of action).
But also as an American I am bitter and don’t believe for a second that the 60-70% of people here that need to learn a lesson, will actually learn a lesson. I no longer believe things will change for the better within my lifetime. It sucks.
teft@piefed.social 6 hours ago
And they will all blame whichever Dem happens to be in the white house because they all have the memories of goldfish.
FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
Not if said Dem actually does something about it. (Unlikely)
Problem is that, if we elect a Democrat, it will be a fabulously wealthy person with no empathy or understanding of the working class and working poor, so the likelihood that they will do anything about it is minimal. Remember when Obama had the balls to walk into Flint, pretend to drink a glass of water, and tell all of those people whose water had been poisoned that everything was a-okay? That’s what I mean. Zero empathy.
Sine_Fine_Belli@lemmy.world 3 hours ago
In my honest opinion, American exceptionalism should be dead and buried 6 feet under. And American patriotism and the American Dream should be revisited and revised
kent_eh@lemmy.ca 3 hours ago
Should be, but it’s such a deeply ingrained part of their national self image that it’ll take a few generations of consistent effort to make it fade away.
vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 3 hours ago
And I have a pet conspiracy theory that this is intentional. American elites are secretly tired of exceptionalist sh*t and think it’s hurting them too. And thus have come up with a solution to return sobriety.