What happened to free trade?
Free trade only ever meant that non-US countries must reduce or remove tariffs and remove capital controls vis a vis the US, so that US capitalists may exploit to their heart’s content.
Every country is absolutely free to trade with the US as much as they want*. Perfectly free trade!
*As long as the trade balance favours the US.
International transfers of weapons and equipment needed to make weapons has always been excluded and under additional restrictions.
Edit: Arms Export Control Act (AECA)
This is the reason why Microsoft can only sell the Windows OS to Iran if they remove strong encryption support (like newer versions of TLS). It’s nothing new at all.
Meanwhile, 40% of US DoD weapons system and infrastructure supply chains rely on Chinese semiconductors. 😂 https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/65e61e6392aba0fa1dba723e/66104c1d4e3ae7809bcd8082_Govini_2024_Numbers-Matter.pdf