Semafor Signals
Europe to take tougher stance on China imports
Insights from the Financial Times and NBC News
The News
The European Union’s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager is expected to tell an audience in the U.S. that the EU made a mistake in not restricting imports of Chinese solar panels, Politico reported Tuesday. The EU is probing possible Chinese export subsidies, Politico noted, and Vestager’s team plans to take action if evidence that Beijing subsidized electric vehicle exports is uncovered.
Her remarks come with China’s commerce minister visiting Europe, and ahead of a trip by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the continent next month.
SIGNALS
China-EU trade in crisis
China’s manufacturing capabilities have set it on course for a “slow-motion train accident” with the EU, the president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China recently said. China’s overproduction of key goods has meant the nation is producing more than other countries can reasonably absorb, leading to price wars, Jens Eskelund said. What’s needed, he argued, is an “honest conversation” about the future of Chinese imports. “It is hard for me to imagine that Europe would just sit by and quietly witness the accelerated deindustrialization of Europe, because of the externalization of low domestic demand in China,” he said.
Europe seeing oversupply of electric vehicles
Slowing sales and an overabundance of Chinese-made vehicles have crowded European ports, the Financial Times reported. Major car ports are struggling to manage congestion, the Port of Antwerp told the newspaper, and “Chinese EV makers are using ports like car parks,” a supply chain manager said. Vehicles are being left at the ports for upwards of 18 months instead of being moved to dealerships as manufacturers grapple with shipping delays and a sales downturn, The FT cited people familiar with the situation as saying.
