The announcement by US President Joe Biden of a drastic increase in tariffs on a number of highly strategic Chinese products is prompting Europeans to rethink their own trade defence policy. The US response does not seem reasonable to some European leaders and elected representatives, who are committed to free trade.
“These additional customs duties are designed above all to satisfy a small section of the electorate, which could be decisive in the November presidential elections”, said the Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, Bernd Lange (S&D, German). In his view, this approach has no legal basis.
The United States is expected to quadruple tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to 100% starting this year. Chinese semi-conductors are expected to be subject to a 50% tariff next year.
The European Commission’s investigation, which could lead to provisional anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese vehicles in the coming weeks, is taking place within a much clearer legal framework, according to the German MEP.
“Within the EU, we are expressing the same concerns, but in a proactive and non-confrontational way. Our aim is not to put the brakes on the Chinese economy”.
At a press conference with the Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, on Tuesday 14 May, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, was cautious about such policies: “I would like to remind you that at least 50% of electric vehicle imports from China currently come from Western brands that produce there and then import into Europe”, he said. He added that European vehicle manufacturers are also successful in the Chinese market.
His counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, expressed himself in similar terms, describing single tariffs as a “bad idea for countries that import and export a lot, such as Germany”.
French President, Emmanuel Macron, is more favourable towards tariffs against Chinese electric vehicles. In an interview with Bloomberg on Monday 13 May, he stressed the need for the EU to responds to Chinese subsidies: “The EU is the most open place in the world, but we can’t survive if, at the same time, we have Chinese subsidies and overcapacity, protectionism in certain markets, and the IRA, the ‘Buy American Act’ in the United States”. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)