{"id":149209,"date":"2025-04-20T09:19:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-20T16:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=149209"},"modified":"2025-04-20T09:19:13","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T16:19:13","slug":"tariffs-tricks-us-india-showdown-in-sri-lanka-drags-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2025\/04\/20\/tariffs-tricks-us-india-showdown-in-sri-lanka-drags-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Tariffs & Tricks: US & India Showdown in Sri Lanka Drags\u00a0On!"},"content":{"rendered":"

e-Con e-News<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Posted byee ink.<\/a>Uncategorized<\/a>Tags:China<\/a>,\u00a0economy<\/a>,\u00a0politics<\/a>,\u00a0tariffs<\/a>,\u00a0Trump<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

blog: eesrilanka.wordpress.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Before you study the economics, study the economists!<\/em>\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

e-Con e-News 13-19 April 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Countries must put their houses in order<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

to face a world of uncertainty<\/em>\u2019 \u2013 IMF chief<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018US trade war poses risks to Sri Lanka\u2019s<\/p>\n\n\n\n

creditworthiness, warns Fitch\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IMF is lying.<\/strong> Fitch is lying. All these economists who are still parroting the old London-Washington \u2018export\u2019 sound-bytes are lying. Even if they know not what, or that, they parrot. Yet their diagnostics are awry, their ratings are skewed, and these economists, parading degrees from Oxford & Harvard, etc., simply have no idea that imperialism has no intention to let Sri Lanka escape. Why are they acting as if they did not know their sugar-daddies in the belligerent North Atlantic have been planning such economic hijinks? Why are they acting surprised, and scurrying about like pissu kumbi on meth, screaming, \u2018The sky is falling\u2019? Why haven\u2019t their dynamic<\/em> & strategic<\/em> forecasts apparently not taken reality, staring them in the face, into account. Then again, Israel\u2019s horror in Gaza seems a surprise to them. The dictums of US President D Trump, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     They know not, or assiduously avoid learning about, the history of the English settler states of North Amerika; of their genocidal & enslaving heritage. A heritage which has greatly influenced & strangled our own economy. Worse, they do not know our own story. Then again, no one appears to dare author a true economic history of our country. Except of course our own SBD de Silva, who had to scour world history to begin to fit all the jigged pieces of the underdevelopment puzzle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Acting Surprised?<\/em><\/strong> If anyone thinks these rumblings are all the doing of one man, think again. The time of Kings (& even then, they were but one head) is long past. The Prince<\/em> has long become an \u2018executive committee of the bourgeoisie\u2019 (or the proletariat, depending on who rules). And if you think it is all Trump\u2019s doing, think again. Bush I. Clinton. Bush II. Obama. Trump l. Biden. Trump II: They have all read from the same scripts and enacted different chapters in this plot. Beware of those who make Trump a lone super-villain, for they are either na\u00efve, ignorant, shallow, partisan or deliberately diversionary. So here it is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The latest US government\u2019s economic actions are all laid out in the US Heritage Foundation<\/strong>\u2019s Project 2025 <\/em>paper under Chapter 26, \u2018Trade Policy\u2019 (see ee Focus, <\/em><\/strong>Brian Bertelic\u2019s New Atlas<\/em>). The HF is the most expensive thinktank that the corporate US can buy. Under US President R Reagan, HF promoted seemingly opposite policies, which led to the \u2018Washington Consensus\u2019 (again, using such silky language, it was less \u2018consensus\u2019 & more \u2018dictat\u2019 for \u2018crisis-wracked developing countries\u2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     And as for USAID? Voice of America? This US regime is \u2018not eliminating them\u2019, they are simply \u2018streamlining these tools, consolidating them under the State Department\u2019. \u2018President Trump isn\u2019t making any decisions at all on his own. This is all predetermined policy\u2019. They are preparing for war with China, while dumping their Ukraine conflict (aka, the invasion of Russia) onto Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     All this has less to do with \u2018free trade\u2019 or \u2018protection\u2019 or a \u2018sound plan to re-industrialize USA or to genuinely balance the US \u2018trade deficit\u2019.  All this foofaraw aims to maintain: the USA \u2018as the world\u2019s dominant superpower\u2019 (\u2018a direct quote from Chapter 26\u2019). It is straight-out wholesale gangsterism. It is now clearer than ever that many countries, are all US colonies, but in name. The still English colony of Australia, for example, \u2018subordinates all Australia\u2019s export industries to US government directives\u2019 (see ee Quotes<\/em><\/strong>). <\/em><\/strong>The US is trying to force strategic industries in Asia, and in Europe, to move to the USA, as it shuts its borders. They have already demanded the Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer TSMC, to also produce chip machines in Arizona, and threaten to destroy their puppet Taiwan and TMSC, rather than allow them to rejoin China. So it is less about making \u2018America\u2019 great again. It is about making the Chinese, nay, all of us, \u2018coolies\u2019, again\u2026 All because they cannot compete with China. They have 400 military bases surrounding China. There are \u201910,000s of US forces\u2026 closer to Chinese shores than they are to the USA\u2019s own shores\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     And here is where they plan to use Sri Lanka as a pawn<\/strong>. The US has been preparing to target \u2018Chinese maritime shipping worldwide rather than taking on the Chinese military itself along or within its shores & borders\u2019. Meanwhile, the capitalist media is totally quiet about whether Sri Lanka has a bilateral \u2018defense partnership\u2019 with the US. And they are equally sotto sotto<\/em>, certainly the international media, about the nature of the Sri Lanka government\u2019s recently signed \u2018defense pact with India, which seeks to entrap us in the US-led Quad\u2019s intrigues\u2019. Only the Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL) has unequivocally exposed the link between the US and India, without somehow trying to blame China as well (See ee Sovereignty<\/em><\/strong>, All progressives and anti-imperialists must fight against the security pact signed with India)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2018The US is preparing to subject its own population as well as those of<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 its supposed \u2018allies\u2019 to immense long-term economic, social & political pain.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cost-of-living crisis in the US will only grow worse. The US hopes<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

that it can endure economic pain & disruption at home & abroad<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

better than the emerging multipolar world can.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multipolarism\u2019s survival will depend on proving otherwise.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/em>Brian Bertelic (see ee Focus<\/em><\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, all this talk of \u2018reciprocal tariffs\u2019 <\/strong>makes no mention of all the US & EU & English & Indian banks & multinationals exploiting Sri Lanka<\/strong>, etc., or their loan sharking through ISBs<\/strong>. Meanwhile, the US government is about to ban all talk of reparations for slavery & colonialism, while our accountants that they \u2018charter\u2019 will join in saying it is only we who owe them<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     We should also watch out for so called \u2018forgiveness\u2019 of debt. They did that to Ghana in exchange for the forced privatization of water services<\/strong> and the \u2018opening up\u2019 of agriculture to foreign companies. A plan, the US Envoy and their agricultural professors have been hinting at as a \u2018final solution\u2019 for Sri Lanka. The US also aims to use their economic & military muscle to gut \u2018online privacy & big tech anti-monopoly policies\u2019, while undermining \u2018food safety, health, & environmental laws\u2019. So, no wonder there are no tariffs on services\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This ee Focus<\/em><\/strong> also reproduces Vijay Prashad\u2019s \u2018The New Bandung Spirit<\/em> is about Industrial Development<\/strong>\u2019. The 4th<\/sup> most populous country in the world, Indonesia\u2019s entry into the BRICS+ this year <\/strong>marks the 70th<\/sup> anniversary of the Asian-African Conference<\/strong> held in Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955. The 1955 Conference gave birth to the Non-Aligned Movement<\/strong> (NAM<\/strong>), formed in 1961, and United Nations Conference on Trade & Development<\/strong> (UNCTAD), formed in 1964. Indonesia is the world\u2019s largest nickel producer, and their government finally banned the export of raw nickel ore while insisting that it be processed within the country. They should have insisted that all processing of the ore take place through Indonesian firms, with investment in making local machinery, however they apparently lacked the capital, and this is where the BRICS+ countries, particularly China, can offer the necessary knowhow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     So, while there may be no lack of funded naysayers to pooh-pooh the striving to create another \u2018International\u2019 \u2013 after all, imperialism has for many years sought to fatten & entrap a so-called middle-class, who exist largely to thwart true independence \u2013 true independence can only be sustained not by merchantry but by industrialization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prashad concludes that \u2018the contradictions of the present\u2019 will \u2018generate their own new spirit\u2019. After all, this spirit will be energized by the strivings of over half the world\u2019s people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Crisis. Crisis. Crisis.<\/em><\/strong> The word \u2018crisis<\/em>\u2019 appears to outnumber the name \u2018Trump\u2019 in the news. Crisis! <\/em>\u2018But what is the crisis?\u2019, ee<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s muse SBD de Silva always asked. The loyal Left & Right always cry \u2018Crisis\u2019. Some even have called for \u2018struggle\u2019. But struggle against what? And yes, what is the crisis? Pity the schooled fools who do not wish to know that we are nation ruled by merchants, merchants of goods & money.  Our captains of commerce are generally involved in cheating and have successfully sabotaged all governments since 1948. A government run by merchants, corruption is thy name, regardless of the politicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     So, watch them acting surprised?<\/em> These economists & the state & corporations & their lip-&- eyeball-grabbing services? Isn\u2019t it tiresome that the Sanderatnes & Wijewardenas & Abeyratnes & Colombages & Coomaraswamys, and their latest little spawn, repeat the same tired blah-blah-blah <\/em>about exports, discipline, rule of law, populist policies, etc., while promoting the tired old colonial plantation game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Is the capitalist class that controls them surprised? Why are the IMFs & World Banks & ADBs, so constantly headlined in the English media, the Fitch\u2019s & the S&Ps & Moodys, etc, supposedly more scientific & sophisticated than the auspicious & inauspicious prognostications of astrologers \u2013 with all their sophisticated AI & Blockchain, etc. \u2013 why are these \u2018experts\u2019 always signaling such definitive ratings, which change all the time. They should at least be gaming each possible scenario, where a supposedly triumphant capitalist system has a menu of possibilities to choose from. Yet they cannot be so honest. They have to hide their immediate tactics and long-term strategies and ambitions. The capitalist media meanwhile trumpet every diversion, and their media-dogs bark in unison. All their number-spluttering minions then quote their forecasts as gospel, and use them to demand commensurate policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are they not aware of the practices of their governments & their ruling classes? Mr Trump would not even attempt such policies, or twit such tweets, if he knew that his backers, both latent and blatant would not abide him. The US government has continued their wars throughout various administrations with varying intensity depending on the level of resistance\u2026 We are told that it is not the US opposition in and out of government that controls Presidents but their capitalists, as represented by their bondholders, 1.3% of the US population, who have held, propelled or stayed, essentially guided, the US Presidents\u2019 edict-signing knuckles. But what exactly made Trump retreat? Was it China\u2019s power, and the potential loss of intermediate capital supply value chains?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The time is long long past when individuals (absolute monarchs & other private dispensables) rule. So the question is not free trade or protectionism, de- or re-industrialization, but how people & nations, long divided by every possible fragmenting funding category, can get some program & accompanying rhythm going to thwart the latest offensives of imperialism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The imperialists have deployed a myriad tactics over 500 years and more to establish Sri Lanka as the colonial import-export plantation merchant-dominated economy it remains to this day. Yet still non-settler, for they have been unable to genocide the majority Sinhala people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     India\u2019s Vijayanagar tried to divide the country into feudatories. The Portuguese invaded the maritimes. The Dutch grabbed the country trade \u2013 the economic intercourse between neighboring countries. And the English sought to command all the waves to set up maritime power across the world, while proclaiming \u2018free trade\u2019.  In 1947, just prior to the \u2018grant\u2019 of independence, the English imposed a \u2018defense agreement\u2019 to retain English bases in the country, apparently to thwart any Indian designs on the country. 10 years later, the SWRD Bandaranaike government removed the English bases, after even having to pay great monetary compensation! The English & the US responded with a bullet, cowboy-salon style, from the hip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Then again, the first part of the 1950s saw the USA not just refine their wholesale aerial genocide techniques in Korea, but also their retail \u2018regime change\u2019 operations involving early fake \u2018rebellions (later revolutions) of color\u2019, coups d\u2019\u00e9tat and assassinations from Iran to Guatemala to the Congo, etc. Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve set up Sri Lanka\u2019s Central Bank, which helped to promote a culture of conspicuous consumption of imported luxuries. They avoided a culture of production, by recapturing our home market from the likes of Unilever, Nestle, et al. The 1960s saw unsuccessful attempts at coups, successful parliamentary coups, the entry of the loan-sharking World Bank & IMF twins\u2026 followed by full-scale wars, south and north, from the 1970s to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Many believe an alternative economic program for Sri Lanka will simply not be allowed. In Greece, a so-called \u2018Leftist\u2019 political party, which came to power promising to overturn the IMF\u2019s strictures, is now led by a former Goldman Sachs trader. In Argentina, a self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist has been rescued, for now, by the IMF. Any country challenging the IMF\u2019s dictats, gets bought or couped. It seems therefore to be a priority for any \u2018progressive\u2019 government to reform the police & military, before they can begin to serve the people and their skilled artisans, rather than protect thieving merchants\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contents:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

e-Con e-News Posted byee ink.April 19, 2025Posted inUncategorizedTags:China,\u00a0economy,\u00a0politics,\u00a0tariffs,\u00a0Trump blog: eesrilanka.wordpress.com \u2018Before you study the economics, study the economists!\u2019 e-Con e-News 13-19 April 2025 * \u2018Countries must put their houses in order to face a world of uncertainty\u2019 \u2013 IMF chief * \u2018US trade war poses risks to Sri Lanka\u2019s creditworthiness, warns Fitch\u2019 The IMF is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-149209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149209\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}