High tariffs on Chinese electric cars: a good move?
The EU has voted to impose additional tariffs on imports of electric car from China. The German government was in the minority with its rejection of the new regulation and outvoted. The EU Commission can now impose tariffs of up to 35.3 percent. Opinions in the European press about the wisdom of the move are divided.
A success for the Commission head
According to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, von der Leyen followed a tried and tested strategy:
“This is a success for Commission President von der Leyen and for the EU's ability to act. And it's a defeat for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. ... The power-conscious Commission president used the same formula that helped her to mobilise support for Ukraine: she hatched an initiative in a small circle, suddenly announced the new direction and only then sought broad-based support from the other member states. Because without that support she is powerless.”
Other countries are cracking down even harder
Handelsblatt stresses that this step was necessary and unavoidable to preserve the European industry:
“The tariffs send a strong signal to Beijing that Europe is no longer willing to support the Chinese economic model at the expense of its own companies. In recent years the Chinese leadership has used massive subsidies and other state support to ensure that domestic companies could build up high production capacities at a low cost. ... The fact that one market after another is closing its doors to Chinese goods should give critics of the tariffs pause for thought - most countries are taking much more robust action than the European Commission is now doing.”
Avoid a trade war that hurts everyone
Escalating tensions between Brussels and Beijing will hurt both sides, warns The Irish Times:
“Sliding into a trade war with the EU, its biggest trading partner, is the last thing the Chinese economy needs when domestic demand remains weak. And European farmers, manufacturers and other exporters can ill afford a hit to their exports to China at a time when wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are already disrupting trade. ... Beijing and Brussels should make every effort to reach a compromise that protects European industry while avoiding the downward spiral of a trade war that will hurt everyone.”