欧洲联盟对中国采取了其最为强大的经济手段之一，即对电动汽车加征高达45%的关税。这一行动不仅增加了遭受报复性措施的风险，还可能反过来损害欧盟国内消费者和企业的利益。在周五的投票中，欧盟提出了这一决定，指出中国提供了不正当的汽车制造商补贴。
面对美国更为积极的对抗中国贸易实践策略，此次举措旨在遵循世界贸易组织的规定。法国总统马克龙警告称，欧洲经济模式需要重新定位，如果无法合理应对来自中美两国更大规模的国内投资与市场保护措施，这可能对欧盟构成致命威胁。预计下月欧盟领导人将公布新的竞争力规划路线图。
欧洲理事会外事关系中心的一位主任评价道，这一投票“代表了欧中关系走向的一个关键时刻”。她强调若关税得以有效实施，则将增强欧盟力量，使其具备更强动力来解决市场失衡、关键依赖以及跨行业新兴安全挑战等问题。另一位观察人士则指出，德拉吉在最近发布的重要报告中表达的担忧与马克龙的观点相似；若不投资于经济转型以更好地抗衡北京和华盛顿带来的竞争压力，欧洲将面临长期缓慢衰败。
欧盟经济发展部长克霍费尔也在Instagram上发表声明表示：“我们希望拥有公平的竞争环境，而非贸易战。因此，我们需要就反补贴税的问题找到解决方案。”他指出，“当整个欧洲团结一致时，我们的力量是强大的；而若分裂，我们将成为其他力量的棋子。”
世界银行在八月警告称，全球经济中的通胀斗争尚未结束。该组织指出，保护主义措施如关税会导致生产与运输成本上涨，并且持续存在的贸易壁垒最终可能迫使生产商向消费者转嫁成本。“我们想要的是一个公平的竞技场，而不是贸易战。”克霍费尔表示，“当整个欧洲团结起来时，我们的力量是强大的；分裂后，我们将成为他人的棋子。”
欧洲经济增长在过去的二十年中一直显著低于美国。根据前欧洲中央银行行长德拉吉的说法，过去二十年来欧洲经济增长持续滞后于美国的主要原因是生产效率的提升相对有限。
中国在数字与清洁能源领域的快速发展以及对关键材料的控制为本国企业提供了巨大优势，并最终导致了全球产业链的竞争加剧。作为世界最大的贸易体，欧洲依赖国际贸易来支撑其经济发展，其中一半GDP源自国际交易。然而，在面对中美竞争压力和确保原材料以加速经济增长过程中可能面临的供应链挑战时，欧盟正在重新评估自己的战略。
当前的电动汽车关税措施符合欧盟目前的政治优先事项，但同时也伴随着经济风险。特别是在经历了世纪性的通胀冲击后，全球贸易战争爆发的风险加剧了消费者价格压力的问题。
欧洲中央银行政策制定者将于10月17日宣布第三次利率削减计划，但在这一背景下，他们的决心可能受到动摇的疑虑影响。除了面临的国际贸易环境恶化问题、特朗普重新掌握白宫的可能性以及美国经济表现依然强劲等因素外，这些因素也可能让决策者犹豫不决。
世界银行警告称，在全球通胀斗争尚未完全结束之际，保护主义措施如关税会导致生产与运输成本上升。如果这些贸易壁垒持续存在，最终可能促使生产商向消费者转嫁部分成本。“我们希望能够建立一个公平的竞技场，但不是贸易战。”德国经济部长克霍费尔在Instagram上的声明中强调，“团结一致时，欧洲的力量强大；分裂后，则将沦为他人的棋子。”
若欧盟不采取共同行动应对，中国的工业战将在其他行业继续展开。
新闻来源：www.bloomberg.com
原文地址：EU Tests Its Mettle to Take On China With New EV Tariff Fight
新闻日期：2024-10-04
原文摘要：
The European Union unleashed one of its most powerful economic tools on China, imposing tariffs on electric vehicles in a move that increases the risk of retaliatory measures and backfiring on domestic consumers and companies.The EU voted on Friday to as high as 45%, arguing that Beijing provides unfair subsidies to its carmakers. While the bloc is aligning with the US’s more aggressive approach to taking on Chinese trade practices, the latest move intends to comply with World Trade Organization rules.French President warned this week that Europe’s economic model “needs to be reset,” and failure to account for the US and China’s greater domestic investment and market protections could be an existential threat for the EU. The bloc’s leaders are expected to unveil a new competitiveness roadmap next month., a director at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the vote “marks a pivotal moment for the future of EU-China relations.” She said successful implementation of the tariffs would strengthen the EU, giving it “momentum to continue addressing market distortions, critical dependencies, and emerging security challenges across various industries.”Former European Central Bank President shared similar concerns as Macron last month when delivering a much-anticipated report on Europe’s competitiveness. He said that the EU would face a “slow agony” if the bloc didn’t invest in its economic transformation to better contend with competition posed by Beijing and Washington. EU economic growth has been persistently slower than in the US over the past two decades, driven by smaller advances in productivity, Draghi said. And the consequences of the slow response to the challenge posed by China’s aggressive industrial plans, with billions of dollars invested in subsidies, are already felt in some of the key industries.While Volkswagen AG and Mercedes-Benz Group AG are struggling with waning relevance in China, BMW AG has been tripped up by an expensive recall, and Stellantis NV is getting hit by poor sales in the US. All of them have issued profit warnings in the past month, with VW considering closing plants in its home market Germany for the first time.After European carmaker shares took a beating in the past weeks following the profit warnings, they recovered a bit on Friday’s tariff vote. The Stoxx 600 autos and parts index rose, but that’s because the news was already priced in, said Tom Narayan, an analyst at RBC Europe. The index is still down more than 10% this year — despite the ever-ascending Ferrari NV in the mix.After years of failed attempts to address long-standing bilateral irritants, including China’s industrial subsidies or the restricted access to its vast market, the EU has gradually hardened its stance as it witnessed the steadfast progress of Chinese firms in the digital and clean tech sectors, fueled by their control of critical materials.As the world’s largest trading bloc, Europe is the main beneficiary of multilateralism, with half of its GDP tied to international trade. But the hostile international environment marked by the US and China’s rivalry and the fight to secure raw materials to accelerate economic growth is forcing the EU to rethink its approach.While EV tariffs deliver on Europe’s current political priorities, they’re not without economic risks. Coming in the wake of a once-in-a-generation inflation shock, the prospect of potential full-blown global trade wars erupting comes with the danger of renewed consumer-price pressure.ECB policymakers are set to deliver a third interest-rate cut when they meet on Oct. 17, but the backdrop could yet stoke doubts in their resolve. Aside from the trade environment — further threatened by the possibility of retaking the White House — resurgent oil prices and a still-resilient US economy might also give officials pause for thought.The World Bank warned in August that central banks’ war over inflation isn’t won just yet. The Washington-based institution said protectionist measures like tariffs raise production and shipping costs and, if such barriers to trade persistent, they “may eventually prompt producers to pass them on to consumers.”“We want a level and fair playing field, but not a trade war. That is why we now need a negotiated solution to the issue of countervailing duties,” German Economic Minister said in a statement Friday on Instagram. “Together Europe is strong, divided it becomes a pawn of others. And if Europe does not react as one, China’s aggressive industrial war will continue in other sectors too.”
