Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Reality is that there is a very limited retreat of the vehicles, with the occupation forces providing cover undeer fire up to Salah al-Din Street
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Claims that the Israeli occupation has withdrawn from areas in the neighborhoods of al-Zaytoun, al-Tuffah, and al-Shujaiya are false
Hamas: The two delegations stressed that any negotiations must lead to the achievement of our people's goals and aspirations, foremost among which is ending the war and the complete withdrawal of enemy forces
Hamas: A delegation from the Hamas leadership, led by the head of the leadership council, Mohammad Darwish, met with an Islamic Jihad delegation, headed by its Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah

No sovereign state should go by the American playbook on trade

  • Hamzah Rifaat Hamzah Rifaat
  • Source: Al Mayadeen English
  • 17 Mar 2023 15:53
  • 2 Shares
6 Min Read

There is plenty to gain from expanding existing strategic partnerships and the smooth progression of bilateral ties in the absence of American interference.

  • x
  • No sovereign state should go by the American playbook on trade

It is a known fact that most sovereign states who have decided to bandwagon with American trading tactics have met an unenviable fate. The decision by the Netherlands to impose new export controls on microchip manufacturing equipment is unfortunate. It essentially entails that Amsterdam has embraced America’s ‘Tech Hegemony’ and decoupling strategies vis a vis China by blocking the sale of some of its valuable chips and printing machines to Beijing. For a country that has sought and advocated for upholding the stability of global industrial supply chains and promoting orderly international trading environments, instead of polarized and divided ones, better sense should prevail.  

There are reasons as to why countries such as the Netherlands should not go by the American playbook. Firstly, the rationale cited for imposing new export controls lacks conviction as it is eerily similar to the US reasoning when it imposed its own export controls on China in October 2022. The same discredited narrative of the PRC intending to produce weapons of mass destruction is punctured by a lack of evidence. The fact that the WMD argument is being cited by the Dutch Foreign Trade Minister, Liesje Schreinemacher who wrote a letter to lawmakers in the Netherlands marks a sharp detraction from the Dutch principle of cooperating and strengthening trade with China. Secondly, like most myths promoted by the Washington D.C. security establishment, the chip ban initiated by the United States has nothing to do with instilling security but is an attempt to choke off the supply of cutting-edge chips to China which constitutes reckless economic competition. 

Note further that in early 2023, Amsterdam dismissed American pressure on adopting export controls and pledged to deepen cooperation with China on economic issues and trade. In a telephonic conversation between Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Dutch counterpart Wopke Hoekstra, FM Hoekstra stated that the Netherlands stood ready to engage with China and push forward the bilateral comprehensive cooperative partnership. More importantly, he affirmed that the Netherlands will handle trade affairs with China in a responsible manner. Responsibility entails adopting an independent trade policy which is devoid of bias or geopolitics which the United States has adopted in its entire economic approach with China. 

There is plenty to gain from expanding existing strategic partnerships and the smooth progression of bilateral ties in the absence of American interference. China and the Netherlands witnessed $130.25 billion in trade or a 12% increase year on year in 2022 with a Dutch company and leading lithography, ASML affirming the importance of stability and reliability in the absence of further disturbances in the global semiconductor industry. As of 2022 and within the European Union, the Netherlands is China’s second-largest trading partner after Germany while China is the Netherlands' second-largest trading partner outside the EU. By investments, the Netherlands is the largest destination for Chinese investments among all EU states while it is the second largest source of investment for China. Regular trips of the China-Europe Railway Express also establish amity, goodwill, and trust between the two sides.  

Related News

Concentration camps and the road to exile: Gaza as a laboratory of privatized genocide

Understanding Yemen 2/2: Ansar Allah values

By partaking in the new policy that imposes export controls on microchips manufacturing equipment, however, the Dutch government is compromising on the positive trajectory and mutual understandings reached between the two countries including building on sound trading ties and the inherent potential of corporations such as the ASML. China accounts for 18% of the company’s order book according to Chief Financial Officer, Roger Dassen yet after the controls, the ASML will have to apply for export licenses for the shipment of products such as the most advanced deep ultraviolet machines (DUV) which are part of the company’s chips printers’ portfolios. Clearly, the Netherlands stands to lose and not gain from such policies.  

It is clear that American machinations are only sowing trouble and discord amongst states and the relationship between the Netherlands and China is no different. According to the Director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, Cui Hongjian, the Netherlands has historically relied on market principles and WTO rules to conduct business with China and any decision on part of Amsterdam to follow the US prevention of chip exports would violate these principles and damage its international reputation. There is much to lose by bandwagoning with the American trade policy vis-à-vis China. 

The detrimental trade war initiated by the Donald Trump administration and perpetuated by the Biden administration in terms of choking China’s economy is not a policy decision that countries across Europe or elsewhere should endorse. China has retained its profile as one of the most respectable economies in the world which has tempered its GDP growth targets and opted for competence over novelty while retaining its Central Bank Governor and Finance Ministers. There is much to gain from apolitical cooperation and the Dutch example should be an eye-opener for all those who vouch for the basic tenets of the WTO. 

Hence, it is high time that countries such as the Netherlands realize that the US with its geopolitical ambitions is only interested in decoupling and bullying practices which have caused grave harm to market-based, free trade rules. The fact that Amsterdam had advocated for supply chain resilience and global industrial stability would mean that its decision to impose restrictions on chip exports would be a marked detraction from its early stance on trade with China. Course correction would ensure that the bilateral relationship moves in the right direction which is the need of the hour. 

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Mayadeen’s editorial stance.
  • United States
  • Netherlands
  • China
  • Chip shortage
Hamzah Rifaat

Hamzah Rifaat

A host/anchor, analyst, and visiting fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington D.C.,2016.

Most Read

All
How is it that the Western regimes, which claimed to support the fake revolutions of Lebanon, Libya, and Syria, waged constant war against the actual Ansar Allah-led revolution in Yemen? (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Understanding Yemen 1/2: The Revolution

  • Opinion
  • 30 Jun 2025
Why Netanyahu is on the ropes

Why Netanyahu is on the ropes

  • Analysis
  • 4 Jul 2025
Ukraine’s Corporate Carve-Up Collapses?

Ukraine’s Corporate Carve-Up Collapses?

  • Analysis
  • 11 Jul 2025
Africa’s top university’s ‘Gaza Resolutions’ outrages pro-'Israel' lobby

Africa’s top university’s ‘Gaza Resolutions’ outrages pro-'Israel' lobby

  • Analysis
  • 4 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
War on Iran

More from this writer

All
Russia in Africa: Strategic Realignment and Open Embracement

Russia in Africa: Strategic Realignment and Open Embracement

BRICS + remains credible counterweight to Western hegemony

BRICS+ remains credible counterweight to Western hegemony

Latin America’s leftward tendencies and lessons from its Middle Eastern counterparts

Latin America’s leftward tendencies and lessons from its Middle Eastern counterparts

Trump Granting Afrikaners Refugee Status is Both Racist and Demeaning

Trump Granting Afrikaners Refugee Status is Both Racist and Demeaning

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS