Why von der Leyen doesn’t wish to be part of the US in a commerce warfare with China

Good morning. Ursula von der Leyen has laid out her financial concepts for a possible second time period as European Fee president, telling the Monetary Occasions that she is open to discussions over each making cohesion and agricultural funds from the EU finances — price some €100bn a yr — conditional on reform and funding targets, and to talks on contemporary joint borrowing. Learn the total interview right here.

Right now, I’ve extra from von der Leyen on easy methods to take care of China, and our Austria correspondent stories on allegations towards the nation’s main Inexperienced get together candidate for the European elections.

Tonight, hear von der Leyen and her major election rivals conflict over the longer term financial path of the EU, in a particular Bruegel-FT leaders’ debate in Brussels and on-line. Join right here.

Go EUr personal approach

As Washington imposes sweeping tariffs on Chinese language imports, and Beijing hits again towards Brussels’ commerce probes, Ursula von der Leyen has rejected the concept the west is already in a commerce warfare with China — and nixed the prospect of the EU becoming a member of the US on one aspect of the barricades.

Context: Beijing on Sunday introduced an anti-dumping probe towards chemical imports from the US and EU, days after the White Home jacked up import tariffs on Chinese language inexperienced applied sciences. Brussels has opened investigations into allegedly unfair subsidies of Chinese language photo voltaic panels and electrical autos.

Von der Leyen, talking because the lead candidate of the centre-right European Folks’s get together at subsequent month’s European parliament elections, denied the EU was already in a commerce warfare towards China, and stated Brussels’ method must be “different” from the US.

“Let’s say we share some of the concerns of our American counterparts. [But] our approach is different. The Americans have just applied blanket tariffs,” she advised the FT. “We want competition, we want to trade together, but we want it to be fair and by the rules.”

“We see China, for example . . . producing massive overcapacity with artificially cheap products and flooding our market, and our companies having problems to access the Chinese market under fair conditions,” she added. “And we see the topic of forced technology transfer. These are topics that are of concern.”

Von der Leyen stated she anticipated the EU probe introduced final September would conclude that Chinese language electrical autos have benefited from “excessive production subsidies”, and that the response could be “that the level of duties would correspond to the level of damage done”.

“So it’s a more differentiated, targeted approach [than the US] . . . we want to signal, it’s not about closing the market or protectionism,” she added. “We want to de-risk, not decouple [from China]. And now we’re developing the toolbox.”

Chart du jour: Feeling the ache

The general public temper in superior international locations stays low as households reel from the price of residing disaster.

Gossip woman

A scandal involving Austria’s main Inexperienced candidate for the EU elections and her allegedly uncertain relationship with the reality has been dominating native headlines over the previous week, writes Sam Jones.

Context: Lena Schilling appeared to be the right candidate. The charismatic and photogenic 23-year-old environmental activist from the Fridays For Future motion was supposed to ensure a lift for Austria’s Greens, the minority companion in Austria’s coalition authorities.

However earlier this month, revelations by Austrian newspaper Der Customary threw that each one into doubt.

The journalists uncovered that the younger Inexperienced signed a cease-and-desist declaration referring to statements she made about two former buddies, a distinguished activist couple. Schilling had advised others that the person within the couple was beating his spouse who suffered a miscarriage consequently, which the spouse referred to as “lies”.

Different instances have been cited: Schilling was accused of wrongly claiming to have had an affair with a journalist, placing his profession in danger, and a senior politician needed to resign due to rumours allegedly unfold by Schilling.

Schilling has stated the assaults are an unjustified intrusion into her personal life supposed to distract from her political credentials.

Get together bosses have stood by her. Final week Inexperienced chief Werner Kogler dismissed the accusations as “grumbling and farting” from jealous political rivals.

However voters appear to have misplaced religion within the Inexperienced prodigy. Schilling is now one of many least trusted politicians within the nation, in response to polls.

Criticism has come largely from the left — a lot in order that the Greens final week gained an unlikely supporter: Harald Vilimsky, lead candidate for the far-right Freedom get together, in a TV debate defended his younger rival because the sufferer of a hidden and nefarious liberal institution.

What to observe right this moment

1. EU basic affairs ministers meet in Brussels.

2. EU-Moldova affiliation council

3. EU telecommunications ministers meet.

Now learn these