Holy Roman Empire

On June 18, 1883, pressured by the economic crisis, the United States of America declared its withdrawal from the free trade system, implementing tariff barriers.

Before the United Kingdom and Austria could respond with action, on June 20, 1883, the French government also announced its exit from the free trade system.

As a result, the free trade system carefully nurtured by the United Kingdom and Austria suddenly became highly precarious.

France and America are not the same, the latter’s influence is limited, and even if it exits the free trade system, the impact is not significant, but France is different.

As one of the three major countries in the world, the withdrawal by the French government undoubtedly had a massive impact.

Upon receiving the news, the Vienna Government was naturally infuriated; having harvested less than half, the leeks had run away so quickly, it was really...

Economy Minister Reinhardt Halden: "Influenced by the withdrawal of both countries from the free trade system, the Vienna Stock Market plummeted by 5.4%, and the London Stock Market crashed by 7.3%.

Industries engaged in import and export trade were the most heavily impacted, with a general decline of over 15%. Overnight, the Austrian stock market evaporated 310 million Divine Shields, and the British stock market 520 million Divine Shields.

Financial fluctuations will inevitably affect the real economy. The events happened too suddenly, and domestic businesses were unprepared.

Many companies with trade dealings with both countries are preparing to lay off employees and cut production capacity to cope with the shock.

France is our third-largest trading partner, with a total import and export trade volume reaching 64.58 million Divine Shields in the first half of the year. Due to the effects of the tariff barriers, this number may decrease by two-fifths in the second half of the year.

The United States of America is our seventh-largest trading partner, with a trade volume of 10.76 million Divine Shields in the first half of the year, which may decrease by one-third in the second half.

The exit of the two countries from the free trade system does not cause us a significant substantial shock, but the trouble is that it has led to market panic.

If other countries follow suit, the panic will further intensify and might even trigger another stock market crash.

The Department of Economics suggests that immediate retaliation measures be taken to deter other countries and avoid the collapse of the free trade system."

With the establishment of the free trade system, the economic connections in the capitalist world have become ever more tightly interwoven, and the global economy has become sensitive to the slightest disturbance.

Trade protection is contagious; when everyone starts to adopt trade barriers, the United Kingdom and Austria — two major import and export countries — will become the greatest victims.

Retaliation is necessary, but how to retaliate has become a problem.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg: "This is a big problem, but the British should be more anxious than us.

With America and France exiting the free trade system, their losses are at least three times ours.

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Beyond raising tariffs against both countries, the Foreign Ministry does not recommend taking too many measures. It is best to wait for the London Government to act and then follow suit."

Are we acting timid?

The answer is no!

International politics is the most pragmatic; reciprocity of costs and benefits is essential. One cannot spend money on cabbage and expect to eat pork, right?

More critically, aside from responding with an increase in tariffs, Austria really can’t do much else against them.

After rubbing his forehead, Franz made a decision: "First, stop the dumping strategy; continuing this way would provoke widespread anger. If the French want trade protection, let them have it!

International competition has its advantages and disadvantages; it might seem like the French economy has been impacted, but in recent years, France’s technological progress has been evident to all.

If it continues, our technical advantage will soon be eroded. If they want to shut themselves away and play by themselves, then let’s just fulfill their wishes.

The task for the Foreign Ministry going forward is to politically isolate them, making them an anomaly, closely watched with caution by all European nations."

This was both a self-consolation and a fact. In the international competition, French companies had to initiate technological innovations to survive, achieving breakthrough progress in many fields.

This would have been impossible in the era of trade barriers. The pros and cons are difficult to assess in one fell swoop, but the French exit greatly aids the push for political isolation.

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Nations are not unlike individuals; when everyone is part of a circle, and you alone are outside it, you’re naturally met with others’ unusual gazes.

If someone were to stir things up, you could be isolated, or even met with hostility.

Ignoring the gaze of others is easily said but tough to do. Once attempted, you’ll slowly realize: it seems the whole world is against you.

...

London

As the greatest beneficiary of the free trade system and the victim of the French’s withdrawal, the British Government naturally could not ignore this development.

Economic Minister Cornell Botts said with a dark expression, "The actions of the French and Americans have dealt another blow to our recently recovered economy.

The most terrifying aspect is their undermining of the free trade system. If we don’t find a way to neutralize this impact, there will be more countries withdrawing from it for their own interests."

The United Kingdom was among the first to engage in free trade and, in a display of good faith to the outside world, practiced unilateral free trade for a long time.

Of course, this was predicated on Britannia’s powerful industrial base. Before France and Austria industrialized, Britannia’s industrial output surpassed the total of all other countries in the world.

Even with open trade, countries could only sell them food and industrial raw materials. Industrial and commercial goods simply couldn’t compete in their market.

It appeared to be a fair competition, but there was no competition at all. It can be said that before the second revolution, British industry and commerce had no significant challengers worldwide.

Foreign Minister George proposed, "We could join Austria in enforcing trade sanctions against the US and France.

The collapse of the free trade system harms not just us but also Austria. The Vienna Government is unlikely to refuse."

Finance Minister George Childs shook his head, "Unless the Royal Navy can blockade all ports of the US and France, I don’t believe trade embargoes will be effective.

Of course, we can prevent their goods from entering Britain. But changing a product’s label is really not difficult; we can hardly identify them.

I guarantee the result of the embargo would be nothing but reduced government revenue, with no noticeable impact."

There’s no helping it; capitalists’ integrity doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. Without regulation at the source and relying on mere self-discipline, we all know what the result will be.

"What’s the response from the Vienna Government?" Prime Minister Gladstone asked.

Foreign Minister George shrugged, "Their response is very passive. Apart from reciprocally increasing import tariffs on the two countries, the Austrians haven’t made a move.

It seems all of Vienna Government’s efforts are focused on the grand task of extinguishing the Ottoman Empire. They don’t seem particularly interested in the withdrawal of the United States and France from the free trade system."

The collapse of the Ottoman is another trouble. Without the Ottoman Empire as a buffer, Britain would face increased pressure in Persia.

Hearing this bad news, Gladstone’s frown deepened. After glancing at the map, he said helplessly, "Restart the Anglo-Austrian negotiations. We need the Austrians to guarantee the security of Persia.

As for the unruly Americans and ambitious French, let’s just note this issue now; we can settle the score with them when there’s a chance.

The economic department can draft countermeasures besides the embargo, and if necessary, we can cooperate with the Austrians.

The foreign department should continue to stabilize other countries; we must ensure the stability of the free trade system."

Since we can’t prevent the fall of the Ottoman Empire, we must settle for the next best thing: ensuring the security of the Persian region.

The Anglo-Austrian two countries had already discussed this issue not long ago but temporarily shelved it due to unsolved differences in interests.

We cannot delay any longer. Negotiations would be even less favorable to Britain once the Ottoman Empire collapses.

By comparison, both the naive United States of America and ambitious France are secondary concerns.

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