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Business Times
16-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Europe's two-front trade war
AS THE US and China wage trade wars against it, the European Union (EU) finds itself on uncharted terrain. It must now devise battle plans that account for the vast differences – and important similarities – between the two confrontations. The trade war with the US came as something of a shock, though it should not have, given President Donald Trump's open hostility towards the EU and fundamental misunderstanding of trade dynamics. Trump complains about America's trade deficit with the EU, but that deficit extends only to goods; in services, the US runs a surplus with Europe. And Trump's tariffs amount to shooting the US economy in the foot while doing nothing to reduce current-account imbalances, which primarily reflect America's low savings rate. This is not just a trade matter, but a political one. The Trump administration is seeking to intimidate – and extract concessions from – Europe, even at the risk of endangering US growth. Trump is probably convinced that the Europeans will cave in, allowing him to boast domestically about an easy 'victory'. The trade war with China is both less surprising and more dangerous, representing an existential challenge for the European economy. Since its 2001 accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), China has caught up with the advanced economies on productivity, but not in terms of wages and social standards. So, while China is at the frontier of innovation in many industries, its labour costs remain much lower than in the richest countries. This combination of Silicon Valley-level technology, developing-economy labour costs, and the vast workforce of one of the world's most populous countries makes China a formidable adversary. Large parts of European industry are under threat. It's no longer just about steel and aluminium. The competition extends to cars, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery and equipment, and many others. Like US tariffs, China's actions are shaped significantly by political considerations. By accumulating industrial overcapacity – a key source of trade tensions with Europe – China's regime is seeking to project its power externally and maintain control of its own people. This explains why repeated calls for rebalancing towards domestic consumption, which would boost Chinese living standards, remain unanswered by China's leaders. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The Greek historian Polybius attributed the fall of the Greek city-states to the Roman empire not to a lack of resources, but to outdated political systems, a lack of unity, and complacency. So, while China's rise fuels concern in the US about the 'Thucydides Trap' – whereby the incumbent hegemon's fear of a rising challenger leads to war – it also raises the spectre of the 'Polybius Trap' leading to Europe's decay. If Europe wants to remain a global player, it must demonstrate that, like China and the US, it can endure short-term economic pain to protect its long-term strategic interests. Acquiescing to unjustified American demands might be good for next month's growth, but it would be disastrous in the longer term, not only because of the concessions themselves, but also because of the precedent they would set for a US administration bent on extracting more. All global players would doubt Europe's willingness to resist predatory behaviour. Embracing China as an alternative to the US would be like leaping out of the frying pan into the fire, as it would create a new dependency that could easily be exploited. Either approach is a recipe for vassalisation. The current period of great-power struggles, one hopes, will not last forever. In the meantime, however, Europe must find ways to strengthen its resilience. This requires finding new levers of growth, pursuing the 'savings and investment' union, dismantling the many remaining internal barriers to trade, and unleashing public investment through new joint borrowing. To this end, the EU might consider convening an exceptional summit this autumn focused on establishing a 'growth-engine' strategy for the next two years, particularly if trade negotiations with the US fail. Such a plan should aim to accelerate the implementation of the recommendations included in former Italian prime minister and former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi's much-touted report on European competitiveness, including by mobilising the necessary funding. Throughout this process, Europe must show humility. It must do more than simply acknowledge, as it did in commissioning the Draghi report, that it has fallen behind in many industrial sectors, and make use of the very tools that enabled China to pull ahead. In particular, the EU should introduce a 'European preference' in strategic markets and, even more important, include mandatory technology transfers for certain investments. Finally, with the WTO framework appearing increasingly outdated, the EU should forge new trade agreements with economies that are not aligned with either the US or China, particularly in South Asia. Emphasising predictability and adherence to rules, these deals could start with targeted industrial cooperation, which is much quicker to implement. The 19th-century historian Fustel de Coulanges observed that, as Rome advanced on Greece, 'All foreigners knew that the Greeks were for sale, either individually and in secret, or openly and by city.' If the EU is to avoid crumbling before the great powers that would besiege it, it must make clear that this is not true of today's Europeans. PROJECT SYNDICATE The writer is a member of France's National Assembly for the Renaissance Party
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
'We are not robots': Techie's viral Reddit rant slams outsourcing pressure; netizens say it is Indians in the U.S., not the west, to blame
In a now-viral Reddit post that struck a chord with thousands of Indian developers , a user on r/developersIndia vented about the quiet, daily struggle of being an outsourced tech worker for American companies. Framed as an open letter titled 'To My American Friends Who Outsource to India—Please Chill,' the post wasn't just a rant. It was a heartfelt plea for empathy from those who benefit from India's booming IT workforce but often forget the human behind the code. The anonymous poster highlighted a fundamental imbalance: fresh Indian IT graduates earning just ₹7 lakh per annum (around $8,000) are expected to deliver Silicon Valley-level performance. Add to that mismatched time zones, excessive meetings, and crushing last-minute deadlines, and the equation becomes unsustainable. 'We're not machines,' they wrote, echoing the collective fatigue of an overworked, underappreciated tech workforce. 'Mutual respect and realistic expectations matter.' Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo When 'Chill' Isn't on the Calendar The post quickly ignited a firestorm of responses—many agreeing, others dissecting the nuances. Some questioned the ₹7 LPA claim, pointing out that many graduates in India work for far less, especially in Tier-2 cities or non-premier colleges. 'There are grads working in Bengaluru for 3-4 [LPA]. I've seen people working full time for 15–18k a month,' said one user, underscoring just how skewed salary expectations can be in India's competitive tech industry. But what really flipped the narrative was an unexpected twist: many commenters suggested that it isn't American clients who are the worst micromanagers—but Indians who have moved to America. You Might Also Like: Not AI. A Bengaluru techie, working from home, fears losing his job due to power cuts in the city 'It's Not the West, It's Us in the West' 'More than Americans, what I think is Indians living in America should understand this more,' one commenter offered, capturing a sentiment that gained surprising traction. Another quipped, 'Never had an issue with US clients, but always with Indians in the US.' Several responses painted a vivid contrast: American managers may be occasionally disorganized or lax, but Indian-origin bosses in Western offices often carry the intense, deadline-driven culture of Indian corporates with them across oceans and time zones. 'An American will ask if you can check an email by the end of the week,' someone wrote. 'An Indian manager will ask you at 11 PM if you're ready for a 9 AM meeting.' Code, Deadlines, and a Call for Dignity At its core, the Reddit post and its ripples reveal a bigger conversation that India's outsourcing industry has long delayed—about work-life balance, fairness, and dignity in tech labor. As Indian developers increasingly speak up about burnout, unrealistic client expectations, and toxic project management, a generational shift seems underway. You Might Also Like: Does freelancing for US clients pay more than Indian jobs? Redditor sparks debate as netizens deliver a reality check The call isn't to end outsourcing—it's to humanize it. To recognize that behind the seamless platforms and 24-hour service cycles are young professionals trying to build careers, lives, and mental peace. And while this wasn't quite a TED Talk, it just might be the wake-up call tech needs.
