What the EU’s new competition tsar thinks about Chinese EV tariffs
Middle of the road
The EU’s new competitiveness tsar Teresa Ribera believes avoiding a trade war is as important as developing Europe’s car industry, as Brussels weighs up whether to slap punitive tariffs on imports of Chinese electric vehicles.
Context: Brussels has announced preliminary tariffs on Chinese car imports. It says they are needed to protect European manufacturers from being undercut by electric vehicles that are unfairly subsidised by Beijing.
Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s prime minister and Ribera’s former boss, said last week during a visit to China that his country was “reconsidering” its position on the tariffs, which will come into place unless a majority of EU capitals oppose them. Madrid had previously supported the tariffs. Germany has been lobbying member states to oppose the measures.
“The main message . . . is that it is important to avoid a clash, a trade war,” Ribera told the FT when asked about her personal views on the tariffs. She was appointed as the commission’s new executive vice-president in charge of a clean, just and competitive transition for the economy on Tuesday.
“We need to identify the best tools for how we can develop the car industry in Europe but are also effective in terms of avoiding this trade war,” she said. “This is something that is already being assessed by the commission services and the trade people.”
Ribera, arguably the second most influential person in the incoming commission after president Ursula von der Leyen, will oversee both the EU’s industrial revival and manage its green transition, as well as serving as the bloc’s antitrust chief.
“My impression is that the European car industry knows that the race is there, the technology race,” she said. “We must ensure we can count on a proper level playing field in Europe in respect of the trade rules and at the same time avoiding a clash, a conflict, a trade war with other countries.”
Northvolt’s battery factory in northern Sweden was meant to symbolise Europe’s green fightback against China and the US. Instead, the start-up is in danger of turning into an emblem of Europe’s inexorable decline.