The Brief – Make electric cars, not war

The global liberal order has long been written off. It was naïve, the argument now goes, to think that trade would bind together countries’ interests and encourage cooperation over conflict. But Europe’s current China contortions suggest that global trade can still keep the peace.

Today was long signposted as the day the European Commission would announce punitive tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle (EVs) imports. The announcement, strategically timed just before Europeans go to the polls, would have sent a clear signal that Europe was committed to protecting its treasured automobile sector.

But instead, silence.

The announcement is now delayed until 10 June – a day after the elections end. And the chatter in Brussels is now focused on potential trade negotiation – rather than a trade war – with the Chinese.

There were already calls across Europe to favour dialogue over tariffs. But recent developments have further emboldened these voices. China sent a five-page letter to the Commission, which threatened countermeasures if Europe slapped tariffs on their EVs, but which also held the door open for talks.

In truth, the benefits to Europe from imposing tariffs were always questionable: It is genuinely unclear if tariffs on Chinese EVs would help or hinder European carmakers.

Years of trade between Europe and China have already deeply entangled their respective automobile industries.

Some 40% of Volkswagen sales are in China, also BMW’s second-largest market. Ownership is entangled, too as the Chinese state indirectly owns 20% of Mercedes. These and other European carmakers now produce millions of cars in China yearly, often via joint ventures with local players.

This entanglement means that the interests of European and Chinese car makers are difficult to separate. It is no wonder many voices in Europe are urging caution – including those from within the continent’s automotive sector.

And this is all before considering the interests of European car buyers, who stand to lose the most. Many may not take kindly if their elected leaders deny them access to low-price, high-quality Chinese cars.

Take a step back, and it’s clear that we’re seeing the global liberal order still very much in operation.

Global trade binds countries together economically and muddles up commercial interests across national borders. This makes national leaders far less tempted to pit their country against another, financially or otherwise.

While tariffs may be levied on some goods, no country vies for complete dominance, and the door is always open to negotiation. An uncomfortable but sustainable peace endures.

There is one final twist, however: Entanglement goes both ways.

Chinese EV makers are now starting to build factories in Hungary, Spain, Poland, and the UK, which means job opportunities for Europeans. Political leaders are taking note: President Emmanuel Macron declared last month that he would welcome new Chinese EV factories in France.

When the ‘end of history’ was famously proclaimed in the 1990s, an implicit assumption was that order would be maintained on Western terms.

Today’s EV experiences show that global trade can still spare us from conflict and upheaval—just so long as we’re okay working for a Chinese boss.

The Roundup

A dozen EU member states have made a joint push to move forward the accession process for candidates Ukraine and Moldova and formally kickstart membership talks by the end of June, according to a letter to the Belgian EU presidency, seen by Euractiv.

While MEPs urgently called for measures to address disinformation risks and foreign influence attempts before the EU elections, according to a letter seen by Euractiv, the Commission responded just two days before the vote, stating the decision lies with tech platforms.

The European federation of organic agriculture and its French members obtained a judicial agreement on 4 June to put an end to labels using the name ‘Eco-score’ for food products, as it can be misleading for consumers.

Argentina unveiled its first certification scheme for deforestation-free beef to European Union authorities in Brussels on Tuesday, as the country prepares for a new EU law targeting imports linked to deforestation.

France’s pharmaceutical lobby Leem unveiled a plan on Tuesday to fight the misuse of medicines, thought to be responsible for several thousand deaths every year, particularly among the elderly.

Pertussis, otherwise known as whooping cough, cases are increasing in France, with almost 6,000 cases reported since the start of 2024, according to data published on Tuesday by the Pasteur Institute, the French biomedical research centre.

While most politicians and lawmakers have been discussing enlargement prospects for the EU, others have quietly worked to bring together EU citizens and their European neighbours in a much more technical but tangible way: telecommunications.

Having spent years focusing on hydrogen, policymakers should switch their attention to direct electrification, which could deliver 90% of industrial process heat by 2035, argues a new study by the think-tank Agora Industry, released on Wednesday.

The push for legislation to curb addictive design in Big Tech platforms will likely continue in the next mandate, after June’s EU elections, two MEPs behind the initative told Euractiv.

While a centrist majority of the centre-right, liberals, and socialists in the new European Parliament still prevails, the expected far-right surge is poised to tip the balance of power in favour of the European People’s Party (EPP): Europe Elects’ latest projections before the election.

To keep abreast of health-related news, check out this week’s edition of the Health Brief, dedicated to the impact of health issues on European elections.

Look out for…

• Vice President Maroš Šefčovič delivers keynote speech at EU Global Gateway event in Bratislava on Thursday.
• Commissioner Iliana Ivanova gives keynote speech at high-level conference on Crisis Management in EU and Beyond in Brussels on Thursday.
• The first day of EU elections on Thursday – the voting day in the Netherlands.

Views are the author’s

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic/Alice Taylor]