Politico: Scholz and Macron threaten trade retaliation against Biden
France and Germany want to negotiate with Washington about unfair competition — but they are ready to hit back if necessary.
BERLIN/PARIS — After publicly falling out, Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron have found something they agree on: mounting alarm over unfair competition from the U.S. and the potential need for Europe to hit back.
The German chancellor and the French president discussed their joint concerns during nearly three-and-a-half hours of talks over a lunch of fish, wine and Champagne in Paris on Wednesday.
They agreed that recent American state subsidy plans represent market-distorting measures that aim to convince companies to shift their production to the U.S., according to people familiar with their discussions. And that is a problem they want the European Union to address.
Read more ....
Update #1: Biden Hits Fresh Bumps in Plan to Smooth EU Trade Ties (Financial Post/Bloomberg)
Update #2: EU keeps its shield up in the US trade war (Politico)
WNU Editor: Washington will counter by saying that the value of the Euro has collapsed in relation to the US dollar, thereby giving European goods an export advantage.
So why all the threats?
I see all of this as posturing and a diversion from the real crisis in Europe which is the energy crisis, the cost of living, rising unemployment, and inflation.
When someone has a problem, using the US as a scapegoat is nothing new.
ReplyDeleteI predict europe will turn towards BRICS for membership in the next few years. There really is no substitute for cheap Russian energy. Europe will parlay with the East because that’s where their money will be. Watch the Arab petro states, they are rapidly turning towards the East for same reason. Plus China and Russia can help manage Iran to safeguard their security.
ReplyDeleteMacron can claim ignorance but Schulz should damn well know by now that this is exactly the reason the coup happened in 2014 to begin with. Reseeding the iron curtain and taking control of all EU trade is what made it worth the cost. He had a opportunity to say something about the Nordstream terrorist attack but he’s got no spine so I doubt any negotiations would amount to much change in policy. Watch him lay out a red carpet at the departure terminal as Siemens and other industrial giants relocate to where the energy is affordable, in the USA.
ReplyDeleteEu has always had huge tariffs and been pro Eu and anti anyone else..
ReplyDelete