In brief
- The European Union’s competition director said Tuesday that while it couldn’t compete economically with the U.S. and China, it could compete strategically.
- Margrethe Vestager told CNBC that the EU was “much better” at fighting unfair trade practices.
- The EU raised tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports last week after a review revealed they had received “heavily from unfair subsidies.”
The EU’s competition director said Tuesday that while it couldn’t compete economically with the U.S. and China, it could compete strategically.
Margrethe Vestager told CNBC that the EU had gotten “much better” at defending itself against unfair trade practices and would continue to discover new methods to compete fairly with its economic partners.
“The point is to realise we can never outspend China or the U.S.,” Vestager told Silvia Amaro in Brussels. “We can spend strategically.”
The EU raised tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports last week after a review determined they had profited “heavily from unfair subsidies,” which threatened European EV companies.
It follows similar U.S. sanctions last month, the latest step in rising trade hostilities between the two economic powerhouses.
During the debate, the EU has tried to avoid alienating China, one of its main trade partners, while protecting its Atlantic geopolitical and economic connections.
China launched an anti-dumping inquiry against EU pork goods in response to EU tariffs.
‘Cutting edge’ tech investment
Vestager listed a 100 billion euro fund for ten “cutting edge technologies” and “common European interest” in hydrogen, electric batteries, microelectronics, cloud computing, and health as EU “strategic” investments.
“That, I think, is a strategic way of using taxpayer money, crowding in private capital, to get what the market will not otherwise deliver,” said Vestager, the European Commission’s executive vice president.
America’s $430 billion 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has invested extensively in technology, clean energy, manufacturing, and infrastructure. Meanwhile, China invests in the tech and green industries.
Vestager said the EU, representing the green transition, was not “copying” its trade partners by taking such restrictions. When asked if such investment levels would help Europe compete in the tech arms race, she said comparisons were not always helpful.
Let’s not let the actions of the United States and China distract us. Let’s not let the actions of the United States and China distract us. She said we should stick to our guns and make sure they succeed.
Source : CNBC News
