Thread

ASML says it sold 'absolutely nothing' in Europe in 2026

402 points · 900 comments · MC995

rvz · 1790344866 · focus · HN ↗
Europe has no money.
1. prerok · 1790347256 · focus · HN ↗
  It's actually the other way around. All we have is money that we stole from the colonies.
  If the car companies actually go down the drain I have no clue what products of note we would still be producing that would continue to bring money in. So, I think our goose is cooked here in Europe.
  1. piltdownman · 1790351897 · focus · HN ↗
    I mean this is just such FUD.
    In Ireland alone we manufacture:
    * Cardiovascular Stents (80% of Global Supply)
    * Orthopaedic Knee Implants (75% of Global Supply)
    * Acute Hospital Ventilators (50% of Global Supply)
    * Contact Lenses (World Leader)
    19 of the world's top 20 pharmaceutical companies operate manufacturing, R&D, or biopharma facilities in Ireland; this compromises over 50% of all physical goods exported from Ireland, totaling well over €100 billion annually. Needless to say it's also the pivotal manufacturing hub for high-demand GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes treatments (like Mounjaro).
    Ireland is among the top global exporters of antisera, blood fractions, and complex cell cultures, making it indispensable to global healthcare infrastructure.
    Ireland is the absolute world leader in dairy science per capita, and produces roughly 10% to 15% of the entire world's infant milk formula, with estimates indicating that roughly one in ten to one in seven babies globally consume formula manufactured in the country.
    That's an Island of less than 5 million people, 1/8th the size of Texas, that was basically bypassed by the Industrial Revolution and had no colonial benefit. Now extrapolate for a second and imagine what Germany is manufacturing.
    teruakohatu · 1790454678 · focus · HN ↗
    > That's an Island of less than 5 million people,
    The Republic of Ireland has more than 5 million people. The Island has well over 7 million.
    <a href="https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2026/0824/1588997-cso-population-and-migration-estimates/" rel="nofollow">https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2026/0824/1588997-cso-popul...
    piltdownman · 1790604935 · focus · HN ↗
    I'm referring to the countries borders consisting of sea, not neighbouring countries. More to the point, all industries I'm referring to were established prior under the constraints of the stated population.
    The population of the 26 counties only hit 5 million in 2021, in the midst of lockdown. It then surged massively with global instability, with a 2.2 per cent increase in 2022 alone with the first round of Ukrainian refugees forming the majority of the 117,000 added to the population count.

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