Germany and the UK gave Trump another polite go to hell message by refusing his demand on Huawei.

President Trump demanded the UK not use 5G technology from Huawei, over security concerns. But in Yet Another Rebuke to the U.S. both Germany and the UK have other ideas.

The German government is leaning toward letting Huawei Technologies Co. participate in building the nation’s high-speed internet infrastructure, several German officials said, the latest sign of ambivalence among U.S. allies over Washington’s push to ostracize the Chinese tech giant as a national security risk.

A small group of ministries reached a preliminary agreement two weeks ago that still needs formal approval by the full cabinet and parliament. That isn’t expected for several weeks.

The Trump administration has been pushing its allies for months to restrict Huawei’s participation in building their next-generation mobile infrastructure—or even pull its equipment from existing networks.

But unwillingness in those countries to delay the rollout of so-called 5G services, the potential additional costs of picking new vendors, and lack of evidence showing that Huawei can use its equipment to eavesdrop on or disrupt communications have stymied U.S. efforts.

In the U.K., Washington’s closest ally in Europe, a review currently under way is expected to conclude that the company’s products should still be allowed in less vulnerable parts of its network, according to British officials.

And across Eastern Europe, where the U.S. has traditionally held considerable sway, governments have been hesitant to drastically restrict Huawei’s access, partly out of concern this could antagonize China, a big investor in the region.

A recent probe by Germany’s cybersecurity agency with help from the U.S. and other allies failed to show that the Chinese company could use its equipment to clandestinely siphon off data, according to senior agency and other government officials.

Lead image from the Engadget Germany may use Huawei hardware for its 5G networks.

World Seriously Needs to Tell Trump "Go to Hell"

This is the third recent case which the EU stood up to Trump,

1. Trump demanded the EU cancel Nord Stream 2, a natural gas pipeline from Russia to the EU. They said no. I wrote about that on January 13 in World Seriously Needs to Tell Trump "Go to Hell" A week ago, the UU decided to go ahead.
2. Trump demanded the EU stop all deals with Iran. Instead, the EU created a special exchange to trade with Iran in Euros, bypassing US dollar clearing and thus US Sanctions. For discussion, please see US Arrogance on Iran: Trump's "Coalition of the Unwilling and Openly Coerced".
3. Huawei is strike three.

To those actions, one can safely add the Wall. Regardless of what you wanted, Pelosi ran rings around Trump.

Sanction Policy

It is beyond idiotic for one person to set a sanction policy for the whole world. I am pleased the world is standing up to Trump.

How did Trump respond? With more bullying of course.

German Cars a National Security Threat

To strike back at the EU a Commerce Study Deems "European Cars a Threat to US National Security".

The report came in with only a couple hours to spare.

The idea that German cars, most of which are manufactured right here in the US, is security threat is of course ludicrous.

But the US cannot legally raise tariffs on German cars unless that was the finding, so, that was the finding.

I suspect the finding was made at the last moment based on what the EU did with Nord Stream 2 and Iran.

National Security Threat Hoot of the Day

Even with US help, Germany could not find any evidence of Trump's claim regarding Huawei.

Nonetheless, U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard A. Grenell said that German policymakers should consider that China gathered and exploited data on an unrivaled scale.

Without a doubt, the US is the unrivaled global leader in data gathering, back door traps, and hardware manipulations.

And the US will not even allow Google, Apple, or any other technology company to even mention when the US asks them for data gathering traps.

To top it off, Wikileaks proved the US even spied on Angel Merkel.

Economically Illiterate Trump

Trump views trade as a win-lose setup. He thinks one side is the winner and the other the loser.

And he insists the US win every deal.

In reality, both sides have to think they are getting something they want, or they would not make a deal. Trump has not made one good deal yet.

USMCA is nearly identical to NAFTA with a small concession for Wisconsin dairy farmers and a bigger loss to Mexico over a mechanism for trade challenges.

At best USMA was break even, but more realistically, Trump's deal was a small net loss vs NAFTA. And Trump stirred up a big pot of animosity in doing so.

Mistrust

With Trump, no company, individual, or nation has any reason to believe he will not later change the nature of the deal. Mistrust is high, and rightfully so.

Peak Trump

Please read "Peak Trump" by David Stockman.

Peak Trump has indeed arrived. Proof is found in the increasing willingness of countries willing to tell Trump to go to hell.