It doesn't change the fact that the US is more analogous to a super nation organization like the EU than any particular European state. Texas and California aren't conducting their own foreign diplomacy like the Spain or France are, but their internal laws, taxation, bureaucracies are wildly different, with each state essentially out for itself with the federal government intervening in extreme cases. Ohio and Michigan have GDP's that are equivalent to Austria and Switzerland. Comparing Texas to Bavaria is as ridiculous as comparing New York City to Singapore.