Press
It’s about gas turbines and tariffs: the relationship between China and the EU is becoming increasingly icy. Is a trade war coming? A commentary by Georg Anastasiadis.
Munich – Trade wars are like real wars between two opponents of roughly equal strength: the risk of loss is horrendous – for both sides. In the end, trade wars make everyone poorer. And so today’s entry into force of European punitive tariffs on electric cars made in China is fortunately not a declaration of war, but rather a final warning shot: there is still a negotiation window that does not close until November. Until then, Brussels will only impose its tariffs in the form of a “deposit” that can be repaid in the event of an agreement.
Effectiveness of punitive tariffs on Chinese electric cars: Economists disagree in survey
It is true that China massively subsidizes its car manufacturers at practically every stage of the value chain. Brussels, alarmed by the war in Ukraine and China’s support for Russia at the latest, cannot and will no longer tolerate this. This also applies to Beijing’s cunning and, to date, often successful attempts to play individual EU countries off against each other, where it has found a willing collaborator in Hungary in particular.
But the dispute over the right answer is also going back and forth within Europe: Germany, as a car country that is itself dependent on unhindered exports, is more lenient in the trade dispute than other EU states. E-car-Buyers have little interest in increasing the price of cheap Chinese import models. And even the economists’ guild is divided among themselves. In a survey, a third are strictly against China tariffs, while half are in favor of them.
Provisional punitive tariffs on electric cars: Is the economic war with China escalating?
The most likely scenario is that the systemic rivals EU and China are not at the beginning of a heated conflict, but rather are facing a long phase of a cold economic war in which both blocs are suspiciously eyeing each other. Europe is aiming for “de-risking”, i.e. reducing dependence and vulnerability to blackmail.
Robert Habeck (Greens) bans China deal of VW subsidiary MAN
The harsh tone adopted by the Green Federal Minister of Economics Habeck during his visit to Beijing has irritated some business leaders in this country. But the casualness with which German company bosses still believe they can do business with the regime in Beijing at the expense of German security is astonishing. This week, it took a ministerial veto from the Ministry of Economics to stop the highly sensitive sale of VW’s gas turbine division to China at the last moment. (George Anastasiadis)
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