The European Union on Tuesday reached out to Beijing for help in tracking a wave of Chinese imports that is expected to pour toward the EU after U.S. Donald Trump ramped up tariffs on China.
China has pledged to “fight to the end” against Washington in an escalating showdown with Trump that could see Chinese goods facing tariffs of as high as 104 percent in entering the U.S. market.
The challenge for the EU — as in the trade war of Trump’s first term — is that goods boxed out of the U.S. will quickly flow toward new markets in the EU, opening the up the risks of an even deeper global trade war. Seeking to address the problem, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke to Chinese Premier Li Qiang and discussed “setting up a mechanism for tracking possible trade diversion and ensuring any developments are duly addressed.”
“President von der Leyen emphasised China’s critical role in addressing possible trade diversion caused by tariffs, especially in sectors already affected by global overcapacity,” the Commission said in a read-out of the call. Läs artikel