There are so many stories like this floating around if you go
looking. The US is waging a war against companies that do business in places
and with people not liked by the Washington Establishment.
The fact that this economic sometimes benefits US companies
by crushing their competitors... well, that's just a fringe benefit.
US companies and banks often get away with the same practices
or receive a slap on the wrist. But Washington likes to send signals to
corporations and governments that don't comply. Get in line, or you won't have
access to US markets.
And even then, the US will find some way to intervene and
exert authority. The US involvement in the FIFA scandal is another example of
this type of behaviour.
The US many not officially run the world, but it sure acts
like it does.
One wonders if the pro-business Trump administration will
continue using these tactics or if we'll see a drop off.
Even though these stories have now broken during the Trump
era, this chapter was written long before he came into office. As is clear the
Trump White House is moving so quickly that they haven't even take over full
control of the bureaucracy yet. Quantity over quality seems to be their guiding
principle.
This is not to suggest that these corporations are in any way
worthy of our empathy or that they're somehow innocent actors. Far from it.
Their own greed and attempts to hide their deeds is fairly obvious. The
corporate world is politicised precisely because like it or not the business
world is an integral part of the political order. Business, markets and the
economy do not operate in a vacuum. Capitalism evolves into a place wherein
corporations and industries become strategic, part of the political system and
wed to the military-security state apparatus. Diplomacy, intrigues and even war
are the realms in which they are both forced and willing to operate.
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