The Weaponization of Economic Infrastructure: Global Economic Competition and Strategic Trade Practices
Overview
This paper examines how countries strategically weaponize economic infrastructure such as pipelines, ports, and technology networks to gain competitive advantages and disadvantage rivals in global markets. The author argues that infrastructure weaponization creates unfair trade conditions and has pervasive negative impacts on international commerce, citing examples from USA sanctions against China and Iran, and cases involving tech companies like Huawei and ZTE.
What this essay covers
- Definition and overview of infrastructure weaponization as an economic strategy
- Case studies demonstrating infrastructure weaponization: China's 5G expansion, USA tariffs on Chinese goods, and restrictions on Iranian financial services through SWIFT
- Analysis of negative impacts on global trade and discussion of major players including USA, China, and Europe in economic weaponization
Preview
The Weaponization of Economic Infrastructure
Student's Name
Institution affiliation
Professor
Date
The Weaponization of Economic Infrastructure
Infrastructure weaponization is an extensive discussion, and it has a significant impact on the global economy. It involves creating choke points to bar other countries' access to a specific region to improve the economy. Technically, monetary policies and economic strength play an integral role in establishing a strong military base. Economic infrastructure can be described as a component that contributes to economic development in a country, such as railways, airports, and harbors. Recently, most countries are using economic infrastructure as a weapon to strengthen their economy or sabotage other economies (Daniela, 2018). Economic infrastructures are usually kept in the dark, and most countries do not unravel the mysteries surrounding their infrastructure. For instance, pipelines are an essential piece of infrastructure, and it supplies an economy with millions of dollars each year. The same case is applied to airports and harbors, which are used for transportation. China is pursuing 5G internet speed across the globe; this is a strategic goal to improve their economy since they can easily analyze other countries' economies (Newman, 2019).
Additionally, they will have access to important information surrounding the economy; they will use it as a weapon in this case. The Seoul Company will no longer be exporting semi-conductors to Korea because the USA is technically improving its infrastructures to win the largest market share in the global markets.