‘Elephants trampling on global trade': EU sidelined by US-China showdown
Over two rounds of high-stakes talks on European soil, Europe has watched from the sidelines as the
US and China tried to reach a truce that might stabilise the global trading system on which the continent is entirely reliant.
Outcomes in Geneva and London that momentarily steadied the ship have been welcomed, even as officials in European capitals frantically parsed statements, posts and tweets for clues as to how the reverberations of US-China engagement would reshape Europe's trade ties, both with the superpowers and beyond.
In Brussels and other capitals, the exchanges served as a reminder of the extent to which Europe's fortunes have become hostage to the whims of giants in Beijing and Washington.
'We are not a beneficiary of any of this [conflict]; we are victims of two elephants trampling on global trade,' said Joerg Wuttke, a partner at DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group, who spent decades as Europe's top business lobbyist in China.
Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. Photo: Simon Song
On Wednesday evening, European Union officials went to bed after hearing US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent say it was 'highly likely' that a pause on Trump's 'reciprocal tariffs' of 50 per cent on EU goods would be extended beyond the July 9 deadline.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Chinese carmaker GAC's electric-van unit takes aim at Ford and Stellantis in Europe
A commercial-vehicle subsidiary of China's state-owned carmaker GAC Group has its sights set on Europe, where it hopes its electric vans can lure corporate buyers away from petroleum-powered models built by the likes of Ford and Stellantis. Advertisement Xiao Ning, CEO of Miraco Motor, told the Post that the company would launch its first model in Europe next year. It aims to grab 10 per cent of the European market, where more than 1.7 million vehicles of this type are sold each year for public transport, goods delivery, emergency services and commuting. 'Electric commercial vehicles have an overwhelming advantage over petrol rivals because of electricity's lower cost than gasoline,' he said. 'Our van will compete against six to seven rivals there, and we think it's reasonable to target a 10 per cent share.' Established in late 2023 and based, like GAC, in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong province, the company is displaying its prototype models in Hong Kong at the International Automotive & Supply Chain Expo, which ends on Sunday. Miraco's battery-powered vans can go as far as 350km on a single charge. Xiao said the company also planned to offer autonomous-driving systems so that its vans could vie for a share of the robotaxi industry around the world. Advertisement The company uses a modular design approach that separates the drivetrain components from the cabin and cargo areas, to make it easier to spin out new models. Its first production model, a minibus, would hit the Hong Kong market this year, he said.
The Standard
12 hours ago
- The Standard
Israel shuts global embassies after attack on Iran
An Israeli flag flutters as police secure the area of the embassy of Israel in Berlin, Germany, October 20, 2024. (Reuters/File Photo)
South China Morning Post
17 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
US and EU should welcome Chinese manufacturing, not try to shut it out
In an amazingly short time, China has developed globally leading technology and manufacturing in multiple sectors, including energy storage electric vehicles (EVs), renewable energy , telecommunications equipment, biotech and more. Many markets want these goods, and China now makes them better and more cheaply than anyone else. But the unprecedented pace and scale of China's development in these sectors have also caught many countries off guard, posing a threat to their domestic industries, which are now slower, more expensive and less advanced than what is coming out of China. Even though these countries also have policies to help home-grown businesses succeed, they fall far short of the scale and effectiveness of China's industrial policy. And so, many countries, especially in North America and Europe, are doing all they can to keep advanced Chinese products out of their markets. Trade barriers have gone up, with a moving goalpost of reasons for barring or hindering the sale of Chinese goods in these countries, from national security concerns and intellectual property theft to unfair government subsidies . In some cases, these are valid concerns, but usually the heart of the problem is in the imperative to protect home-grown industries and avoid an overdependence on China. The result is that some of the most advanced and affordable products are being artificially shut out of markets that would otherwise be buying them. In the past, places like East Berlin and Cuba kept out foreign technology and never developed anything close to a competitor. Similarly, there are leading car brands from all over the world on American roads, but not Chinese cars, and especially not Chinese EVs, now widely considered the best in the world in terms of driving range, advanced features and pricing.
