The Law of America

Published in Les Échos
(France) on 11 June 2015
by Guillaume Maujean (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Thomas Seligmann. Edited by Danielle Tezcan.
America is not what it used to be. Even The Economist laments this in a headline this week on America's lack of involvement in the Middle East. Chaos reigns in Iraq, Syria and Libya, but the U.S. seems undecided on how to set it in order. Barack Obama no longer wants to play the world's policeman, preferring to keep foreign policy in line with his "light footprint" doctrine. However, we shouldn't interpret this strategic repositioning as backing down or giving up on a leadership that has now been established for more than a century because America doesn't need to rely on its military power to exert its influence on the global business market.

In 2014, as the statistics now tell us, the U.S. became the world's leading oil producer. The country's energy independence is within reach. Even better, America is on the point of acquiring the status of "swing producer," playing a referee role over black gold, a position which has traditionally been reserved for Saudi Arabia, and is an increase in power which surely is not unrelated to its retreat from the Middle East ... and there are plenty of other regions where America imposes its imperial whisper. The subprime mortgage crisis is long forgotten on the other side of the Atlantic, where Wall Street is taking forward strides once again. The dollar reigns supreme in global finance. New tech giants, from Google to Uber, are revolutionizing entire industrial sectors. American courts are getting involved as far away as Paris and Geneva, imposing dramatic inquiries and record-breaking fines. No, America has not stopped imposing its vision for the economy, justice or competition on the rest of the world. The footprint it is leaving is as light as that.


L'Amérique n'est plus ce qu'elle était. Même « The Economist » le déplore, qui titrait cette semaine sur son manque d'implication au Moyen-Orient. Le chaos règne en Irak, en Syrie ou en Libye, mais les Etats-Unis ne semblent pas décidés à y mettre de l'ordre. Barack Obama ne veut plus jouer les gendarmes du monde, qui s'en tient en matière de politique étrangère à sa doctrine de l' « empreinte légère ». Il ne faudrait pourtant pas interpréter ce repositionnement stratégique comme une reculade, une renonciation au leadership établi depuis maintenant près d'un siècle. Car l'Amérique n'a plus besoin de s'appuyer sur sa puissance militaire pour exercer son influence sur la marche des affaires du globe.

En 2014, nous apprennent aujourd'hui les statistiques, les Etats-Unis sont devenus le premier producteur mondial de pétrole. L'indépendance énergétique du pays est à portée de main. Mieux, l'Amérique est en passe d'acquérir le statut de « swing producer », ce rôle d'arbitre de l'or noir traditionnellement dévolu à l'Arabie saoudite. Une montée en puissance qui n'est sans doute pas étrangère à son retrait du Moyen-Orient… Et il est bien d'autres territoires dans lesquels l'Amérique impose son souffle impérial. La crise des crédits « subprime » est oubliée depuis longtemps de l'autre côté de l'Atlantique, où Wall Street a repris sa marche en avant. Le dollar règne en maître sur la planète finance. Les nouveaux géants de la tech, de Google à Uber, sont en train de révolutionner des pans entiers de l'industrie. Des tribunaux américains s'immiscent même jusqu'à Paris ou à Genève, infligeant enquêtes spectaculaires et amendes record. Non, l'Amérique n'a pas renoncé à imposer au reste du monde sa vision de l'économie, de la justice ou de la concurrence. En laissant une empreinte pas si légère que ça.
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

Hot this week

Canada: It’s Not Worth a Trade War To Save Ontario’s Foreign-Owned Car Plants

Spain: Canada Breaks Away from the US

Canada: The US Has Always Wanted To Absorb Canada for Our Natural Resources

South Africa: The Bond Market Is Beginning To Revolt against America

Ireland: Fertility Options for Women Still Don’t Provide Real Choices

Topics

South Africa: Young Africans Like Trump Even Though They Do Not Trust Him

South Africa: How SA and Canada Are Looking Beyond the US

South Africa: The Bond Market Is Beginning To Revolt against America

Canada: Canada’s Economy Is Defying Donald Trump. The Numbers Prove It

Canada: It’s Not Worth a Trade War To Save Ontario’s Foreign-Owned Car Plants

Australia: Trump Suggests He Would Not Help UK in Another Falklands Clash

Canada: We Could Have Just Ignored Trump’s ‘Lake America’ Trolling

Canada: We’ve Waited Way Too Long To Fix Trump Avenue

Related Articles

Japan: Half a Year of the Iran War: US Should Take an Honest Look at Failure

Austria: No Victory for Iran, but a Severe Defeat for the US

Egypt: War and Negotiations

India: Trump’s ‘Economic D-Day’ for Iran: Whose Clock Runs Out First?

Saudi Arabia: US Treasury Secretary’s Threats: Psychological or Real?