Trump’s meddling into the internal affairs of the Germany and the EU have blown up, as expected in this corner.
Not only did Trump fail to halt the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany, Russia will build more of it.
Moreover, Trump angered Germany so much that Germany Calls for European Firewall Against U.S. Sanctions
Russia not Switzerland Will Get Money for Pipeline Completion
The bipartisan U.S. move initiated by Congress last week threatened sanctions against companies working on completing Nord Stream 2, Europe’s biggest energy-infrastructure project, which the U.S. and some European countries fear could give Russia some control over the continent’s energy supplies and boost revenues for an increasingly belligerent Kremlin.
The move prompted Swiss pipe-laying company Allseas Group S.A. to stop work on the $10 billion pipeline, just weeks from completion. The pipe would double direct gas shipments to Germany by Russian’s state-owned gas giant PAO Gazprom.
Despite announcement of the stoppage, Russian energy minister Alexander Novak told a state-owned press agency on Thursday that only 160 km, or the underwater part of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, remained to be completed, work that would be finished within months by using Russian ships. Russian state media reported that Gazprom’s pipe-laying vessel Akademik Cherskiy, currently in the far east, would be brought to the Baltic to complete the pipeline.
Firewall Against Trump Needed
The U.S.’s move sparked outrage in Germany, prompting senior officials and politicians to call for a coordinated approach to protect the strategic interests of European Union members against future U.S. sanctions.
The dispute adds to strain in the western alliance since the Trump administration adopted a series of foreign-policy moves, including troop withdrawals, trade tariffs and the withdrawal from certain international agreements, without consulting with allies.
Some German officials say that fortifying Europe’s defenses against U.S. sanctions could require closer cooperation with Russia and China at a time when President Trump is pressuring EU allies to side with Washington in its trade, technology and geopolitical disputes with Beijing.
“Washington is treating the EU as an adversary. It is dealing the same way with Mexico, Canada, and with allies in Asia. This policy will provoke counter-reactions across the world,” this official said.
Treating Everyone as an Adversary
In Trump’s pea-brain understanding of trade, there is a winner and a loser.
In reality, deals are reached when both parties believe they get something out of it.
Sanctions, bullying and threats don’t help.
Trump wanted the EU to buy more US liquid Natural Gas (LNG). It would have been far more expensive for the EU so they resisted US sanctions.
But thanks to now bipartisan US sanctions, Russian contractors will get the money for completing the pipleline.
And the sanctions that Trump wanted, just might drive the EU to come up with a workable way around US sanctions.
Let’s all hope so.
Wake-Up Slap in the Face
Trump can have his US first policy at all costs but then he should be prepared for EU first, Canada first, China first responses.
Germany’s response should serve as a whopping big slap in the face wake-up call but don’t count on it.
Trump’s peabrain trade strategies and bullying of allies are encased in a head of concrete immune to political head slaps, even well-deserved ones.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
Trump is Russia friendly so he & Putin already agreed this. I doubt the USA is losing any sleep over it as they want to become self sufficient
Trump is destroying the status quo.
Is that not what we wanted?
We haven’t had a national leader since Eisenhower. All since have been pretty boys or daddy’s boys, or both, and all with their fingers in the political winds.
Technology is what we do best. Nuclear technology would have made Russia’s gas worth less than pipeline construction cost by now, but we’ve allowed our luddite tree huggers to essentially outlaw it, ironically playing to Russia’s only strength.
“In Trump’s pea-brain understanding of trade, there is a winner and a loser.”
They have well articulated how that’s not their view, but anyway.
“Trump’s peabrain trade strategies and bullying of allies are encased in a head of concrete immune to political head slaps, even well-deserved ones.”
That is a truly great sentence. Bravo!!
Of course, it’s all a bit more complicated. Your inferred international model, or scenario, seems to assume there are no bad actors in the mix. Of course the US Empire is one, but so also is China, whose mercantilist posture has been quite damaging to many Western commercial and other concerns, and with whom Russia is a Eurasian symbiot. Obviously, Germany being dependent on Russian gas is a serious element in the geopolitical equation with far-reaching implications.
I happen to think the Russians and Germans are right in doing this – the more symbiosis the better. But the fact is that if there ever is a period of serious hostility between Eastern and Western Eurasia, then that dependency will put Germany and her allies in deep doo-doo. Ideally, this should not be a concern, but if we look at history, wars do break out quite often, so it is good to be prepared for them as much as we might prefer to believe that we have transcended such cruel and unnecessary stupidity.
The more trade and symbiosis, the less the chance of tensions boiling over into a conflict.
As for bad actors, it seems Americans are incapable of ever asking themselves: Are we the bad guys”. Americans think it is their birth right to always be styled as the heroic good guys, no matter how much carnage and cynical manipulation is revealed.
Generally I agree of course, but it is a bit of a two-edge sword, a bit like family. The more symbiosis, the more co-dependency can develop and if/when it’s time to change, the other partner(s) can push back. Often wars resemble family feuds – so developing deep, intricate connections can backfire badly when they turn sour.
Since the Great War, major powers have been pretty adroit at keeping wars in minor countries and have avoided head-on confrontations with any of the Majors. Let’s hope it stays that way, although ideally they could stop the carnage and mayhem in the smaller arenas as well.
Nord Stream started in 2011, under Obama’s watch. Trump went right after it when he became president, but to date his efforts have failed. Now he owns it?
The Russia and Iran issues both boil down to trying to increase oil and natgas prices worldwide in order to try and make the US fracking industry profitable. It’s really as simple as that. US banks and investors have over a trillion dollars tied up in one of the stupidest efforts in human history. The rest of us need to pay up to fix that, and Trump is determined to see that we do.
Isn’t Schroeder Chairman of Nord Steam AG and on board of Rosneft also?
Imagine if a US leader did similar on the board of a large Russian or Chinese company.
A big picture here is any wide tie-up of German industrial capability with Russian natural resources will be bad for the wider west. It’s one scenario that can lead to a future war. As threatening, or more so, than China.
You mean Germany might try to invade Russia again, or France is going to give it a try again ?
No. Bad for west outside of Germany.
If there is to be a conflict Germany will be sacrificed whereas in the past it would have been defended. Its actions will seperate it from wider NATO. No excuse to protect it.
German industrial prowess plus Russian natural resources and military equal another threat to counter.
There is already reluctance to share sensitive information with German sercret services due to Russian influence.
Trying to ride 2 horses at one time is a dangerous act.
Germans have a track record. A record that hasn’t helped avoid escalating conflict. Look at the consequences of their about face in 1991.
But…I thought Trump was Putin’s Puppet and the EU was outraged by Russian aggression in the Ukraine.
Guess I was all mixed up.
It went something like this……
“Okay Donald, we’ve got the pee pee tape so here’s what’s going to happen. Just do all in your power to annoy the Europeans until they fall into our arms. You can try and stop them dealing with us if you like, yeah, that would be a great idea, it makes it look like you’ve actually got a plan. Ever heard of a false flag?”
Never believe what they tell you, just look at the actions and results to see the plan.
Sanction strategy won’t blow up if it injures cowards who do nothing more than talk. Godspeed to the EU showing some courage, it’s long overdue.
This is the problem with Trump. He says he doesn’t want to pursue globalism like his predecessors, but rather than actually opposing it he treats the whole concept like a buffet where he can pick and choose issues to his liking.
If you’re going to loudly advocate for more easy money from the Fed and throw more funding at the MIC than ever before, you may as well go in on the rest too. At least that way we won’t constantly alienate everyone, friends and foes alike. Well, almost everyone that is, Trump would never utter a harsh word to the great people of Israel and Saudi Arabia!
Yep!
#1 I bought stock in Gazprom a few years ago and have been very happy. I may buy more.
#2 The EU clearly doesn’t see Russia as an enemy/threat if they continue to become more dependent on Russia for energy that they could shut off to cripple them. So can we stop pouring as much military resources and money into Europe?
Russia and Germany are about as naturally allied as two large economies can ever get. They only see hickups in their mutually beneficial relationship, when one of them get a bit too big for his own britches.
Agreed. Indeed I would go further: if Germany would to join in with Russia and China and in turn bring Europe on board, that would be the birth of a new civilisation with 500 year coat tails, i.e. a real geopolitical game changer. However, the political systems and vision have a ways to go for that to be practical. But a pipeline here or there is a good start.
Russia has ALWAYS been a very reliable energy provider, nothing is gonna change that any time soon ! The problems in Ukraine are merely the consequences of a (failed) CIA coup and NATO(US) wanting to expand even more into Russia’s backyard. Putin was right to draw a red line, enough should be enough ! Sanctions weren’ t justified but definitely helped Russia to become more self sufficient….
Going to warn you. Natural gas will be free at some point in the future.
It’s a byproduct at this point and if oil goes up in price things will get nasty.
They are running out of places to store the gas at this point.
Liquefied natural gas is going to be a hell of a lot more expensive than piped. It’s not rocket science. The idea was a huge Magnitsky Act brain fart from the very beginning. European trade with Russia would be a great way to start the dismantlement of NATO.
Especially when the fracking industry tanks, and Americans face the super steep declines of all fracking wells.
They are basically giving gas away at this point.
Actually they are paying to have the gas taken away in some places.
If they stopped flaring things would fall apart overnight.
This is probably one of the stupidest moves in foreign policy. The last obstacle to NS2 was cleared when Denmark allowed it to cross her territorial waters. No doubt there was arm twisting behind the scene, but this last ditch episode is out in the open.
Gazprom could have just bought the pipeline-laying ship along with the crew, but why bother.
This is not America first, this is America alone policy.
Yep, it takes some pretty dumb advisors to arrive at this point – and Orange Man has plenty of those. He’s had some very good pre-election ideas but delivered on none of those. All talk, no trousers.
Trump called it: I’m sick of winning.
So much for windmills, solar and other such fairytales….
It’s probably a good thing. It ties Germany and Russia together. Funny how Russia’s former satellites don’t seem eager to buy gas…
Russia can use the Euros to buy BMWs and Mercedes…
The EU will use more fossil fuel and the greens are not complaining? What happened to Germany’s solar power experiment?
People in Germany complaining about 30 cents per kilowatt hour kinda put a few kabashes on the cake. The Yellow vests in France was triggered by a 25 cent per gallon increase (USA equivalent) tax on petrol, and the riots are really about the future taxes on petrol driving the price to $40.00 per gallon by 2030 under the Paris Climate Agreement.
No. Triggers mean nothing. The riots are about 40 years of neo-Liberal policy, experts telling you there is no alternative, and continually getting the shaft by self-appointed elites.
The Germans are on a bender to replace coal with gas. Or at least that is the sales pitch. Being pragmatic, they’ll likely end up adding the now easier available gas to the existing mix…
Pretty much all reliable measures of wealth, largely boil down to measuring energy availability per capita. So unless getting poorer becomes genuinely fashionable, reducing it is only ever really in the cards for “those others.”
Trump is a peanut-brain, just like his supporters.