BOYCOTT THE USA!
The War of the Fleas
by Bill Paton, 7 February 2025, Phuket
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The United States Government, led by President Trump, is trying to bully you. Yes you. Trump has now threatened more than half the world with tariffs, including Canada, Mexico, the EU, Brazil, China, Russia, India, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Denmark and Columbia. If you are not on the list yet, your turn will come. He has made it clear he believes he can bully the whole world into buying more American services and goods, plus pretty well anything else he wants.
Never mind that it won't work, that balancing trade and hosting the world's main reserve currency are mutually exclusive. This is called the Triffin Dilemma, wherein the supplier of the global currency must run a deficit to generate that supply. But it is not apparent that President Trump even cares that it won't work. It is all in the bullying, designed to impress upon his constituents—and above all, himself—what a powerful leader he is, getting what he wants by twisting everyone's arm until they say 'uncle'.
I am not going to buy more American exports. Instead, I am joining my compatriots in Canada to buy far less American goods and services. Global per capita consumption of goods and services exported from the USA in 2024 was over €500 per adult, on average, worldwide. You yourself probably spent more than that buying US exports last year. Think about it: Netflix? Facebook? Amazon? Disney? LinkedIn? Apple? Starbucks? 7 Eleven？MacDonald's? Nike? Pfizer? Google? I could make a very long list, that would still not include many other American businesses operating abroad whose names you might not recognise. Did you spend €1,000 buying American products and services in 2024? Perhaps more?
Trump's complaint that the world is not buying enough American products is absurd. From movies to drugs to weapons to junk food, the world is awash in a glut of American offerings, often overpriced and with little alternative. Here in Thailand, you can often see the next 7 Eleven from the doorstep of the one you're at, leaving little else available other than their appalling selection. Here is a picture of the streaming apps offered on my television in Thailand:
The apps featured are Netflix, Spotify, YouTube, Prime Video and Samsung TV. They are all American except for the Samsung TV brand's own app, which has more US channels than anywhere else except Thailand. Search for other apps and you will find only two more—Apple TV and one Asian company, AIS.
You may well ask, what difference will it make? Well, as with recycling, your personal action will only make a small difference. But together, a global boycott of the USA could make a very great difference, a concept perhaps best described in The War of the Flea by Robert Taber:
“The guerrilla fights the war of the flea, and his military enemy suffers the dog’s disadvantages: too much to defend; too small, ubiquitous, and agile an enemy to come to grips with.”
We can at least have the satisfaction of fighting back a little and hold back some of that money we are sending to US oligarchs. The day after this article is published I will deactivate my Facebook, LinkedIn and Amazon accounts, and more, for at least this year. This will not be so easy. I will have to give up some valued social contacts who may not find me on another app. I will have to find alternatives to buy books and apps and music. Google is a particularly invasive species to weed out of my life. But I am going to see how far I can go.
When connecting with people I will tell them I prefer to use Line or WeChat or Signal, rather than WhatsApp. I will boycott Starbucks and any other American stores or brands. For my next phone, I can go back to Huawei and their excellent new operating system, Harmony. Most people in the world must choose between Android, Apple and Microsoft, all three of which are US-owned. Harmony also runs laptops and desktops just fine. You may not find it comfortable to stop buying all American services. Perhaps you're addicted to Doritos? Like a python's embrace, it can be very difficult to break free. But it is not so hard to reduce your consumption of some American goods and services, at least loosening their grip.
You may have noticed the oligarchs that were standing in the front row at President Trump's inauguration. They are selling you literally trillions of dollars worth of services and goods. Much of that does not count as 'exports' as they do so much of their business all around the world. Altogether, Trump has invited 13 US billionaires to join his administration and help 'govern'.
Trump has also issued an Executive Order withdrawing from the new global minimum 15% tax on corporations, signed up to by 135 countries so far. In a complete reversal, he has threatened any country that dares to tax an American corporation, even one doing business in—say—Thailand with the doubling of taxes on their corporations doing business in the USA. Could it get any more outrageous?
Donald Trump is an odious man. I believe that many people and countries see that and will stand up to him, proving that insulting and threatening the entire world is unacceptable and that voodoo economics don't work. While inflation swells again in the USA behind its tariff walls, most countries will choose mutually respectful cooperation and positive-sum relations. Together, we can go forward, into a future when the USA is less and less capable of pushing us around.
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PS: Contact me on:
billpaton@qq.com www.billpaton.com WeChat: bmpaton Signal: @bmpaton.01
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