“And there goes the market for their stuff...’
Russia doesn’t export much to the USA. Its primary exports are energy to the EU.
With respect to China, it can convert its factories to supply its invading armies instead of producing consumer goods. Not unlike the US conversion of its manufacturing capacity to producing war materials in WWII. For China, wiping out 200 million of the 300 million US population via the anarchy and starvation following EMP and then sending 200 million of its own people to North America would be a good deal. Supplying the occupation and rebuilding would keep its factories at home running for decades.
China will have huge problems to deal with if the USA is wrecked. Invading countries across oceans won’t be a realistic option for them for many years, assuming America’s collapse doesn’t drag them into their own collapse.
The American power grid and economy, the global Cisco internet system, and the communication satellites are all tied together. If one goes down hard, odds are we’ll lose them all.
Goodbye 21st Century. Hello Dark Ages.