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Comment by izacus | Hacker News Reader

So basically you want US companies and economy to be controlled by the government to the same extent that Chinas companies are? Where the government needs to approve every deal with foreign suppliers and manufacturers?

That sounds very much how our socialist economy worked, glad you've decided to try the same approach we did from 1945-1990. Maybe THIS TIME it'll actually perform better than the very successful free markets of 20th century. ;)

Seriously - the most successful US companies are global corporations which have major presence in EMEA and APAC markets. They also have rather large control over communications and news fields. What do you think will happen in those non-US markets if those corporations start to be a vessel for American propaganda and foreign policy bullying? How long do you think it'll take before they find themselves banned and pushed out of non-US markets?

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> So basically you want US companies and economy to be controlled by the government to the same extent that Chinas companies are? Where the government needs to approve every deal with foreign suppliers and manufacturers?

It's not the companies that are the problem, it's the requirements being imposed on them by foreign governments. The failure is on the part of the US government in not protecting US companies from unreasonable technology transfer requirements etc.

> The failure is on the part of the US government in not protecting US companies from unreasonable technology transfer requirements etc.

Maybe foreigners do not think it's unreasonable ?

Realpolitik international relations. Different parties having different interests doesn't mean there is nothing the US government can do to achieve better conditions for US companies.

> there is nothing the US government can do to achieve better conditions for US companies.

Are you sure about that ? The US already provides huge help to US companies at the determinant to other countries.

No technology transfer would mean higher tariff from East Asia.

China wont stop until their GDP per capita matches that of Japan / South Korea.

It is only China that forces IP theft, though

And why would foreign governments agree to that while still tolerating US companies? Especially when the power blocks like EU have an option to side with China - especially after attacks from Trump administration?

What gain does the US think to get here except having everything spiral into regressive and dangerous pre-WW1 mercantilism?

What would the EU gain diplomaticaly also individual countries woud do this.

You could argue that the UK would side with India and project power there assuming we actually get our carriers out there.

I don't think that sales volume is the only metric to be taken into consideration here. No matter what degree of culpability you assign to each party, the US and China are countries with an increasing level of hostility towards one another. Why should America permit what are ostensibly American companies from openly trading high technology with an increasingly hostile nation? Especially technology which is of military significance. I'm sure there were similar restrictions in place during the Cold War. I'm not advocating that the west returns to similar policies, but this might be the direction that we're forced to progress in for our wellbeing's sake.

They don't have to make propaganda because before them first came the IMF OR the US army.

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