Did you know that tariffs and sanctions are another form control of...

Did you know that tariffs and sanctions are another form control of governments, individuals and companies?

Posted 2025-08-05 20:00:43

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That is a well-established concept in international relations and economics. Tariffs and sanctions are powerful tools used by governments to exert influence and control over other governments, as well as over individuals and companies within and outside their own borders.

Here's a breakdown of how they work:

Tariffs-

A tariff is a tax on imported goods. While they are often used to protect domestic industries from foreign competition, they can also be used as a political and economic leverage tool.

Controlling Governments: Governments can impose tariffs on a country to pressure it into changing its policies. For example, a country might impose tariffs on another nation's key exports to force it to negotiate a new trade deal or to retaliate for what it sees as unfair trade practices.
Controlling Companies: Tariffs directly impact companies that import and export goods. They can raise the cost of a company's raw materials or finished products, making them less competitive. This can force companies to change their supply chains, move production, or increase prices for consumers.
Controlling Individuals: While not directly aimed at individuals, tariffs can affect them by raising the prices of consumer goods. This can lead to reduced purchasing power and a change in consumer behavior, which in turn can create political pressure on the government to change its policies.

Sanctions-

Sanctions are more targeted and are typically used to influence a country's behavior without resorting to military intervention. They can be imposed on a country as a whole, or on specific individuals and entities.

Controlling Governments: Sanctions are a primary tool for pressuring a government to change its actions, such as its human rights record, nuclear ambitions, or foreign policy. Sanctions can be broad-based (e.g., a trade embargo) or more targeted, such as freezing the assets of specific government officials.
Controlling Individuals and Companies: Sanctions can be very specific, targeting individuals and businesses associated with a sanctioned government or regime. This can include:
- Financial Sanctions: Freezing assets, restricting access to international financial markets, and blocking transactions. This can make it impossible for a company to do business or for an individual to access their wealth.
- Travel Bans: Preventing specific individuals from traveling internationally.
- Trade Restrictions: Banning a company from buying or selling specific goods or technologies. This is particularly relevant for dual-use technologies that can have both civilian and military applications.

In short, both tariffs and sanctions are non-military methods of using economic power to achieve political and strategic goals.

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New form of "Neocolonialism or Economic imperialism

While it's a strong claim, there's a significant body of academic and historical thought that argues economic tools like tariffs and sanctions can indeed function as a form of neocolonialism or economic imperialism, which is a type of indirect colonization.

This concept suggests that a powerful country can maintain influence and control over a less powerful one not through direct political or military rule, but through economic domination. Here's how tariffs and sanctions can be used to achieve this:

Creating Economic Dependency-

Tariffs can be strategically applied to make a developing country's exports less competitive, hindering its economic growth. At the same time, the dominant power can use its own economic might to flood the market of the weaker country with its subsidized goods. This can destroy local industries and force the weaker country to rely on the powerful one for manufactured goods, thereby creating a relationship of economic dependency.

Historical Context: A classic example is the way colonial powers often used trade policies to ensure colonies only produced raw materials and purchased finished goods from the colonizing country. This created a cycle of dependency that continued even after political independence was granted.

Coercion and Structural Adjustment-

Sanctions, especially those that freeze assets or block access to international financial systems, can cripple a country's economy. This financial pressure can force a government to adopt policies favored by the sanctioning power, such as privatization, deregulation, or "structural adjustment" programs. These policies are often presented as necessary for economic stability but can benefit foreign corporations and harm local populations.

Example: The case of Haiti: The U.S. has been criticized for using economic coercion against Haiti. After a coup, the U.S. imposed an embargo, and when the democratically elected president was restored, it was under the condition that Haiti would lower its tariffs on imported goods. This policy led to the decimation of Haiti's domestic rice industry, making it reliant on imported, heavily subsidized U.S. rice.

Limiting Sovereignty-

By imposing sanctions or threatening tariffs, a powerful country can essentially dictate the foreign and domestic policies of a weaker state. The weaker state's government is left with a choice: submit to the demands of the powerful country or face economic devastation. This undermines the nation's sovereignty—its ability to make its own decisions—and effectively reduces it to a client state.

While tariffs and sanctions aren't physical colonization, the resulting loss of economic and political autonomy can be seen as a modern, more subtle form of control.

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A tool created by America and it's allies and now used by China to control the world

This is a complex and highly charged assertion, and it touches on a key aspect of contemporary geopolitics. The use of tariffs and sanctions is a long-standing practice by major world powers, but the dynamics have shifted considerably in recent years.

Here's a breakdown of the key points to consider:

The U.S. and its Allies' Historical Use of Economic Tools-

The United States and its allies have a long history of using tariffs and sanctions as instruments of foreign policy.

Tariffs: Historically, the U.S. used high tariffs to protect its domestic industries and generate revenue. After World War II, it largely championed a global system of free trade, but recent years have seen a return to using tariffs to address what the U.S. perceives as unfair trade practices, particularly from China.
Sanctions: The U.S. and its allies have a well-developed legal and regulatory framework for imposing sanctions. They have been used to pressure countries on issues ranging from nuclear proliferation (e.g., Iran), human rights (e.g., Russia), and terrorism. The goal is often to isolate a target country economically to force a change in its behavior.

China's Growing Use of Economic Coercion-

In response to these actions, and as it has grown into a major economic power, China has begun to develop and use its own tools of economic statecraft.

Reactive Measures: Many of China's early uses of tariffs and sanctions were retaliatory. For example, in the ongoing trade war with the U.S., China has imposed tariffs on American goods in response to U.S. tariffs.
Proactive Measures: China is also increasingly using economic tools to advance its own strategic goals. This includes:
- Export Controls: China has a dominant position in the global supply chain for critical minerals and rare earth elements. It has begun to use export controls on these materials to pressure other countries, particularly those that impose restrictions on China.
- Targeted Sanctions: China has imposed sanctions on individuals, companies, and even entire countries that have taken actions it views as a challenge to its interests, such as expressing support for Taiwan or criticizing its human rights record in Xinjiang. These sanctions can take the form of import bans, travel restrictions, and placing companies on an "unreliable entities" list.
- Unofficial Coercion: A key aspect of China's strategy is the use of unofficial or ambiguous sanctions. These are often not explicitly announced but are implemented through bureaucratic hurdles, delays, or public campaigns that lead to consumer boycotts. This approach allows China to exert pressure while potentially avoiding formal challenges at international bodies like the WTO.

The Broader Geopolitical Context-

The situation you describe is a reflection of a fundamental shift in the global order. The tools of tariffs and sanctions, once primarily used by Western powers to maintain a rules-based order, are now being used by a rising China in a more assertive way.

Weaponized Interdependence: Both the U.S. and China are using their economic interdependence as a weapon. They are identifying and exploiting each other's vulnerabilities in key sectors like technology, critical minerals, and manufacturing.
A New Era of Competition: The escalating use of these tools is a defining feature of the new geopolitical competition between the U.S. and China. It is moving beyond a simple trade dispute and is increasingly about who can dominate key technologies, control supply chains, and shape the rules of the global economy.

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Africa, South America and other developing Asian countries are at the mercy of these draconian/authoritarian countries...

That's right to point out that developing countries are often the most vulnerable to these forms of economic coercion. The term "at the mercy of" accurately captures the power imbalance at play. When a major economic power, whether it's the United States, China, or the European Union, uses tariffs and sanctions, the impacts on smaller, developing nations can be particularly severe and can indeed be seen as a form of "draconian" control.

Here's a deeper look at why this is the case:

The Asymmetrical Impact of Tariffs-

Developing countries often have economies that are heavily reliant on exporting a small number of raw materials or agricultural products. When a major power imposes a tariff on one of these key exports, the consequences can be devastating.

Loss of Market Access: A tariff can make a developing country's exports uncompetitive, causing them to lose their primary market. This can lead to a collapse in demand, a drop in prices, and a massive loss of income for the country.
Lack of Diversification: Unlike larger economies that can shift production or find alternative markets, developing nations often lack the economic diversity and resources to pivot quickly. This makes them highly susceptible to economic shocks caused by tariffs.
Perpetuating a Cycle of Dependency: The powerful country can use tariffs to protect its own industries while forcing the developing country to continue to export raw materials at low prices. This is a classic pattern of neocolonialism, where the developing country's economy is structured to serve the needs of the more powerful one.

The Authoritarian Nature of Sanctions-

For developing nations, sanctions are not just economic policy; they can be an existential threat.

Humanitarian Crisis: Broad-based sanctions on a country can cripple its entire economy, leading to a shortage of food, medicine, and other essential goods. This can lead to a humanitarian crisis, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable people. The sanctioning powers often argue that the goal is to pressure the government, but the suffering is often borne by the civilian population.
Undermining Sovereignty: Sanctions can be used to force a country's government to change its domestic or foreign policy. This is a direct assault on the nation's sovereignty, as the government is pressured to make decisions not in the best interest of its people, but in the best interest of the sanctioning power.
Exclusion from the Global System: By freezing assets or blocking access to the international financial system, sanctions can effectively sever a developing country from the global economy. This makes it impossible for them to engage in trade, get loans, or attract foreign investment, trapping them in poverty and isolation.

The Role of China-

While Western powers have historically been the primary users of these tools, China's rise has introduced a new dynamic.

Alternative to Western Institutions: China offers developing countries a different model of engagement through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It provides loans and investments for infrastructure without the political conditions or demands for "good governance" that often accompany aid from the World Bank or IMF.
A New Form of Dependency: Critics argue that this Chinese approach creates its own form of dependency. The loans often come with high-interest rates, and if a country defaults, China can gain control of strategic assets like ports or mines. This "debt-trap diplomacy" is seen by many as another form of economic coercion.
Balancing Act: Developing countries are now often caught in a difficult balancing act, trying to benefit from Chinese investment while navigating the political and economic pressures from the U.S. and its allies. They are essentially forced to choose sides in a new geopolitical struggle, with their own national interests often taking a back seat.

In conclusion, your statement highlights the harsh reality that developing countries are not equal players in the global economic system. They are often caught in the crossfire of great power competition, and the economic tools used by powerful countries can have a profound and often devastating impact on their development, stability, and sovereignty.