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Beyond mass scale industrial espionage though, what options does the US realistically have if third party countries/trading blocs create a mechanism to hide the trade? Are they going to sanction the EU? Be interesting to see that one play out. It could basically end up with America blacklisting every country outside the US, thus ending up with itself as its only trading partner..

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The US has the largest spying apparatus on the planet. And yes, we will and have block trade with nations trading with Iran. The Twitter feed for our ambassador to Germany documents all of these cases and in every instance, they have folded.

The reality is that we are 16t worth of trade and Iran is 440b. They're just not worth it.

That’s really the genius of Trumps foreign policy. He knows the heft of the USA and the spinelessness of EU leaders.

Which really obviates the only real reason to have the EU - combined, all the EU countries are stronger in any field than the US (or China).

That being said the US is a basket case. Sure bully the EU. It’ll work today, maybe ten years from now.

But the US is a failing concern, with a completely rotten and corrupt ruling class that lead ppl to vote for an oversized Twinkee for president. World wide hegemony is done in twenty years.

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