THE EU AND CHINA CONFRONT TRUMP

 

 The European Union (EU) and China have reached a historic agreement to jointly oppose US President Donald Trump on tariffs and other economic issues. The two sides will meet in July. Europeans and China have always been rivals, with vast differences in export values, although tax rates are of little importance. 

 

This explains, for example, why in the smallest Spanish town, there is a Chinese market with a multitude of goods. But now the problem is far-reaching. It is about countering the enormous tariffs that the US wants to impose on China, above all. Trump has provisionally reversed himself for 90 days, assuring that he will continue with his tariff policy. 

 

 For example, he wants to impose an 80 percent tax rate on imported electric vehicles on China. This high tariff is the first time such rates have been raised. At first, Trump spoke of a 145 percent tariff on imported Chinese products. He later lowered it to 80 percent, but it was still excessive according to Beijing.

 

 Trump called President Xi Jinping a “very smart leader” even as China raised tariffs on US goods to 125%. “China is a very big and great country. Xi is a very good leader, a very smart leader. It’s a different kind of leadership. It’s a different kind of government, but they are certainly great,” Trump said aboard Air Force One last night en route to Mar-a-Lago. 

 

“I’ve always gotten along well with President Xi; we had a good, very good relationship.” The European Commission (EU) has joined forces with China to provide a more robust response to US tariff harassment. 

 

Not all Europeans agree with this likely scenario, and some may even withdraw, considering that China and the United States are Europe’s trade rivals. This issue is very sensitive in trade relations practically worldwide. 

 

 For the moment, there is a wait-and-see attitude in this trade war.