Statement from the CC of the Workers Party Youth (Ireland) 1 May 2025
From Tariff War to Imperialist War
The decision by the United States President to impose tariffs on almost all countries has sent shockwaves throughout the capitalist world. Many bourgeois commentators have tried to characterise Trump’s actions as ‘erratic’, and ‘unpredictable’. However, Trump’s actions are not based on his own feelings and attitudes but represent the desires of a certain section of the American bourgeoisie. The plummeting, and subsequent recovery of the stock market which resulted from ‘liberation day’ created millions of dollars in profit for stockholders and speculators. Something which Trump admitted himself.
This is only a component part of a larger strategy to reassert America as the leading capitalist centre. China’s growing influence throughout the world is a threat to America’s position at the top of the world imperialist system. On the other hand China is attempting to secure foreign markets and trade partners for themselves through the exertion of ‘soft-power’ and the export of capital to countries in Africa and South America. One example being the takeover of the Panama Canal by a Chinese company and the resulting tensions over the control of such an important transport route. There can be no mistake that China was the target of Trump’s tariff war and the rest of the capitalist world was in the firing line.
It was also necessary to increase domestic investment in the United States, and to ‘rebalance’ the trade deficit, which has been growing for the past number of years. The ultimate aim of such policies is preparation for war. The industries which have been targeted most directly by tariffs (electronics, automobile, steel) are indispensable to a war economy. In the event of war, having such facilities outside of US territory presents serious security issues. We have seen such patterns before when protectionist policies were introduced in the 1930s in preparation for World War II. On the other hand, China is taking advantage of the USA’s diplomatic turmoil to extend the olive branch to traditional US allies, Japan and South Korea. While at the same time increasing its military spending to $314 billion and continuing to expand its presence in the South China Sea.
Europe: Brothers in Arms
The breakdown of the relationship between the bourgeoisie of the United States and Europe has resulted in the acceleration of the EU plans to position itself as a third power. The economic stagnation which has faced the European Union (particularly Germany) in recent years is finding its resolution in the transition to a war economy. The fiscal laws which bind EU nations are now being thrown aside to push the drive towards rearmament.
The €800 Billion Rearm Europe plan openly declares the necessity for the European Union to become war ready by 2030 and at the same time to become more self-reliant on European-made military technology. Already we are seeing thousands of jobs lost due to the ‘restructuring’ that is necessary in the shift to the war economy. There can be no mistake: the working class will pay for these war plans, either through the cutting of labour rights, pensions, public infrastructure or through direct participation in military conflict itself.
While many member-nations of the EU are taking part in the rearmament plans, there can never be uniformity on all issues. Capitalism still exists on a national basis, even though the movement of capital has become internationalised. There are constant internal tensions between the member-states of the European Union as they compete with each other to pursue their own profit strategies, while also competing with other imperialist blocs. The nature of imperialist alliances are always temporary as the bourgeoisie of a given country is always seeking to upgrade its own position over the bourgeoisie of another. The competition to emerge on top over the USA, Russia and China is also a competition between member states of the EU, for who can position themselves in the leading position, who can ensure that ‘their’ monopolies get the first access to the spoils of war.
Their Profits or Our Lives
On this international workers day we adopt the slogan ‘Their Profits or Our Lives’ from the WFTU. The competition between monopolies leads in one direction: war. Today, we see the ‘hotbeds’ of imperialist competition which are now threatening to engulf the whole world in a new conflict. The imperialist war in Ukraine has been fueled by the capitalists of the USA-NATO-EU on the one hand and Russia with the support of China on the other. This includes ‘neutral’ Ireland which has given millions in non-lethal aid to Ukraine, which still has warfare applications and only serves to extend the conflict.
The capitalists have announced their plans and it is time we made our own. We will hold the banner of internationalism on this international workers day. Together with our class brothers and sisters around the world, we will struggle for the organisation of the working class into a fighting force – One which is capable of providing a real opposition to imperialist plans and which does not side with the imperialist of one country or another over his own class siblings. We will struggle for a world without imperialist war and destruction, which is only possible with the building of workers’ power and socialism-communism.
Their Profits Or Our Lives
No To War Economies
Yes to Class Struggle