[Skybird]

Bilge Rat, there have been several requests for assessment to legal expert boards on WTO level, EU level, German government and parliament level, and the scientific service of the Bundestag as well as its pendant on UN level, and all resulting reports have always rejected the american demands and ruled them to be breaking international law by claiming that American interest-led self-legitimation does not overrule sovereign decision making and treaties between sovereing foreign nations doing business that excludes the US. Sovereign nations doing dealsd between themsleves must not ask you for permission if ni American property is affected, you see.

Its just not your business and does not need your legal permission. You stick your noses into something your precious national law is not relevant for, since no US company and property is involved. Maybe some in Washington think that the world is their property and most obey them and is regulated by US national legislation. Well, it mustn't, and isn't.

The US wants to replace Russian energy exports with overpriced and lower quality own exports of liquidized gas, which is more polluted, thus needs more post-processing, and price-ise not competitive. Very bad deal for us, it already is, and we do not want to increase our losses. Europe buys some of that already, to do America a favour, but the interest to increase these imports from the US has been avaluated, and found to be NILL. Lousy quality at overpriced costs: very bad deal. Thats why Germany does not build a once planned further gas terminal at Wilhelmshaven. There are no industry customers who would buy that additonal gas. Its too bad an offer.
Moneymoneymoney. US laws have no valid legal claim do regulate independent treaties and regulations between foreign sovereign nations. This is what has been confirmed by legal experts time and again, and it explains why those European nations not liking Norstream 2 nevertheless reject to openly confront the Germans and side with Washington. The US has tried to bully Denmark, Sweden to make them prevent building the pipeline in their waters, and got a bloody nose everytime. Brussels also has formally rejected the Washington demands although its sympathy for the German going is somewhat muted.

You see, Washington's permission does not get asked about this. Its not your legal matter, you may not like that and claim otherwise, but nevertheless it is not your legal matter. Never was, never will be. You break international law where you act to enforce your demands the way the cinese try to enforce theirs for the South chinese sea. It simpyl is illegal in both (different) cases. Thgere are no valid legal claims. Only self-legitimations one tries to bully through.

Biden does not change his course for nothing. He knows he has no valid legal basis in all this, he does not want to deepen the rifts between the US and Germany, and he wants germany'S support for his climate agenda and his international minimum tax policy. Not all states in the EU are happy with minimum corporation tax raises, some benefit from keeping them low. If he wants Germany to weigh in its weight on EU level, he needs to make concessions. Tit for tat.


The bitterness in resisting Germany, and EU mistrust towards the US, he will not overcome that cheaply, however. Four orange years have taught us all a lesson we will not ignore again. America first, okay, we took note of it. And we draw consequences from it. You broke it, you're proud of having broken it, now live with the broken pieces.


Why we should prefer to replace US-claimed dependency from Russian energy with dependency from US energy, is beyond me, btw. After said four orange years, the appetite for that is somewhat limited. Like it or not, those four years have done damage that is going to stay. We wpould be stupid to just go back to the time before that as if nothiugn happend. We have been demonstrated very convincingly how easily the US political landscape can go bollocks, and how easily the government in Washington can lose it. What happened four years ago, can easily - and will - happen again.