If we are trading in services unfairly, sure. But we're likely not. Others will put up many different barriers to impede fair trade. The US does less of that nonsense, on balance.

What about unfair technological lead due to government support? The internet is a DARPA spinoff.

What about unfair IP rules due to overwhelming control of international organizations and standards?

What about unfair tax dodging by US multinationals, not paying tax on profits in the corresponding countries by abusing an international tax system made by the US for the US?

More to the point, what about the "exorbitant privilege" the USA enjoys from having the worlds reserve currency? If other nations make a concerted effort to ditch this set up, the USA can no longer run massive deficits. Imagine the USA trying to run a balanced budget immediately.

That's over-stated. I don; think the US cares too much about that at all. In fact it encouraged the Euro.

That happened in the golden era of multilateralism, after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union. The US realized how unfair the situation was, and took some timid steps to start a rebalancing of the situation, allowing for the creation of a competing currency.

It is not that the Euro was not a threat to the dollar, it is simply that the threat was minor then, and that it was plain and simple the right thing to do: renounce to unfair advantages in order to move to a more just world.

The US continues to unfairly abuse the dollar as world currency, and dismissing this fact can be a costly misjudgment: fair for the world, but painful for the US.

France had Minitel. They just never did anything with it. The EU also subsidize (even more) then the US does. US corps can't take profits from military ops to subsidize civilian ops. EU also tax dodge[1]. It's not an American thing. Also, The US double taxes its companies. The EU do not. Am Cos pay taxes on worldwide profits. EU cos do not.

[1]http://www.dw.com/en/german-companies-avoid-billions-in-taxe...

Yes of course, the US is better than everyone else.

Enforced trade, fair trade, it's all the same thing really.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Expedition

[2] https://www.economist.com/special-report/2003/07/10/japanese...

If you gotta go back two centuries ago to find something major, I think this proves my point. Regardless I was talking about the post war period, when modern international trade began its earnest desire to propagate free trade.