China News Service, December 7th (Reporter Meng Xiangjun) Recently, facing the United States, European leaders can't sit still.
French President Macron's state visit to the United States a few days ago was considered the "last chance" for Europe and the United States to avoid slipping into a "trade war".
However, according to Bernd Lange, chairman of the International Trade Committee of the European Parliament, it now appears that it is futile to try to avoid the crisis through negotiations. It is necessary for Europe to launch a counterattack and "sue" the United States at the WTO.
Why does the United States, which keeps promising to restore the transatlantic partnership, keep making its European allies "nightmare"?
On December 1, 2022 local time, US President Biden held a state banquet for French President Macron at the White House.
[America's move, Europe's embarrassment]
A few months ago, the United States introduced the "Inflation Reduction Act" (IRA), playing a very tempting "trump card" for companies.
From clean energy investment such as wind power generation to the production of electric vehicles, batteries and related accessories, etc., from January 2023, as long as the main production links are completed in the green industry in the United States, there will be a tax-free "big gift package" with high rewards Subsidies, plans to allocate up to $400 billion over 10 years.
The skyrocketing energy prices triggered by the Ukrainian crisis have long overwhelmed European businesses. The United States is throwing out huge discounts at this time. How can European companies, large and small, not be "crazy"?
Data map: "Beixi-1" natural gas pipeline for gas transmission between Russia and Europe.
Not only Germany and France, the economic leaders of the European Union, but also enterprises in European countries such as the Netherlands have also accelerated the transfer of industrial layout to the other side of the ocean.
In the eyes of EU officials, the United States is making things difficult for Europe by resorting to this trick.
They have accused the United States of engaging in trade protectionism and violating WTO rules, which will exacerbate the shrinking of European industrial production.
In October, German Chancellor Scholz said he would have in-depth discussions with the United States on the bill, and he worried that the U.S. approach would trigger "a huge tariff war."
German Deputy Chancellor and Minister of Economics and Climate Protection Habeck hit the nail on the head, believing that the United States is "searching" Europe.
Data map: French President Macron attends an informal summit of EU leaders.
In November, Macron went out twice in person, hosting a banquet at the Elysee Palace. Once he called together the French manufacturing giants with large energy consumption and carbon emissions, and the other time he called together Ericsson, Volvo, Unilever, AstraZeneca, etc. The person in charge of the European "head enterprise" has only one purpose-to implore everyone to keep the production line in Europe.
He also revisited the "Buy European Products Act" of the Sarkozy era, hoping to fight against the United States and save Europe's re-industrialization process.
France also decided to join forces with Germany to fight back.
On November 22, local time, the two countries reached a joint statement to jointly launch a "war to defend" the European economy, announcing that they would protect European industries and jointly boycott the US bill.
[Giving face, but missing lining]
In this context, Macron embarked on a trip to the United States for "Syrian friendship" and "seeking fairness".
One of Macron's tasks is to express the strength of the French-US relationship to US President Biden; the second task is to convey Europe's demands and call on the United States not to use the "aggressive" "Inflation Reduction Act" to punish Europe.
The US "Politics" website disclosed that Macron's trip was to represent the opinions of the 27 EU countries, trying to persuade Biden to adopt the Mexican and Canadian models and grant exemptions to some European industries.
Facing members of the U.S. Congress, Macron vehemently criticized the U.S. for harming European interests, but during talks with Biden, his tone was significantly softened.
France wants to be "respected as a good friend" by the United States, Macron said, "a strong European ally is in the interests of the United States".
On December 1, local time, after a press conference in the East Room of the White House, Biden stood with Macron.
However, the reality is very skinny.
During the talks, Biden promised that the bill could be "fine-tuned" in response to EU concerns, but White House spokesman Jean-Pierre later stated that he would not seek to have the U.S. Congress amend the law.
Although Macron won the White House state banquet worth 500,000 US dollars, he won face, but Europe did not get back the "face".
[It was "set up several times" by the United States]
In recent years, France and Europe have indeed been "several times" by the United States. Macron has repeatedly criticized the United States for harming others and benefiting itself, and there is evidence to base it on.
Round 1: Grab the Submarine Order
In September 2021, the United States, Britain and Australia established a small group trilateral security partnership "AUKUS" (AUKUS), which kicked France away and took away France's "contract of the century" to build 12 submarines for Australia. Macron was very angry Recall the ambassadors to the United States and Australia.
Later, Biden went to the residence of the French ambassador to Italy to meet with Macron. Foreign media said that the two sides "reconciled".
Round 2: Sky-high prices for natural gas
Since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis, the United States has asked its European allies to jointly sanction Russia, causing Europe to fall into an energy crisis and have to switch to buying American natural gas.
The US media "Business Insider" quoted estimated data as saying that the price of liquefied natural gas purchased from the United States for US$60 million per ship soared to US$275 million when it arrived in Europe, and the profit for one ship reached more than US$150 million.
In October 2022, Macron called out the United States and Norway at an entrepreneurial conference in Paris, saying that they sold natural gas to European countries at three to four times their domestic prices. "This is not the true meaning of friendship."
Data map: The logo of the Southern California Natural Gas Company.
The third round: the xenophobic "small circle"
In November 2022, during the G20 summit held in Indonesia, Macron once again expressed his dissatisfaction with the US "Indo-Pacific strategy" and the exclusion of France by AUKUS.
Round 4: The Inflation Reduction Act
In fact, during the G20 meeting, Macron already mentioned the negative impact of the US "Inflation Reduction Act" on the EU's economy. This issue is naturally a top priority during his visit to the US.
But when Macron returned from the United States, the Europeans found that nothing had changed.
Commentators believe that Macron's "confidence" in resolving differences is actually just a diplomatic statement.
If the United States really includes European countries in the scope of subsidies, it will only increase the dependence of European companies on the United States for green investment, which is not in line with the long-term goal of "European independence".
["European autonomy", how to fight back? 】
Ultimately, "European autonomy" means that Europe breaks away from its dependence on the United States.
This is the goal of Macron's efforts since he came to power, and it is also an increasingly strong common awareness in many European countries.
Previously, EU Internal Market Commissioner Breton expressed his dissatisfaction with actions.
He believed that the United States "did not pay enough attention" to the issues raised by Europe and refused to visit the United States to attend the US-EU trade and technology summit.
Faber, the finance spokesman for the European People's Party, the largest group in the European Parliament, advocates a tough approach to the United States.
He pointed out that if the United States insists on going its own way on the road of trade protectionism, the EU will have to "put all the tools of torture on the table."
Lange, chairman of the European Parliament's international trade committee, urged EU authorities to file a complaint with the WTO as soon as possible over the actions of the United States.
Lange assumed that "some minor changes" to the implementation of the Inflation Cutting Act could be agreed during the EU-US negotiations, but he did not expect much change in substance.
Data map: President of the European Commission von der Leyen.
On December 4, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke out, pointing out that the U.S. policy "distorts the market" and splits the global supply chain. competition.
With the Inflation Cutting Act less than four weeks away from taking effect, the EU has limited options to play against the US.
This may include the "Buy European Products Act" mentioned by Macron, and if future trade frictions escalate, Europe does not rule out imposing tariffs on American goods in retaliation.
The European version of the US "Politics" website revealed that providing substantial subsidies to European companies through the "European Sovereign Fund" is also one of the emergency measures considered by the EU.
The European Commission and European countries realize that if they want to prevent the European continent from becoming an "industrial wasteland", they must act quickly before companies change their production layout.
American "political" websites, Qatar Al Jazeera News, the British "Financial Times", "The Economist" and other mainstream media all came to similar conclusions, that is, "economic nationalism", "Made in America" and "America First" in the United States. The move is undermining transatlantic trade, making Europe a victim and exacerbating tensions between Europe and the United States.
Data map: Volkswagen production line in Wolfsburg, Germany.
The "European Times" editorial pointed out that for the United States, the field where the United States and Europe can fight side by side is limited to the ideological community, and they are tough on Russia and China. Once the interests of the United States are touched, sorry, weapons and natural gas must be bought from the United States. To be able to flow to the United States, the competitiveness of enterprises must also be the first in the United States.
Economists have calculated the U.S. subsidy policy. Even if the EU subsidizes its own enterprises to the maximum extent, the competitiveness is at most only 1/4 of that of the United States.
That is to say, you can get a discount of 8,000 US dollars to buy an electric car produced in the United States, but only a maximum of 2,000 euros (about 2,098 US dollars) in subsidies in Europe.
Regardless of sharing weal and woe, the moment when European and American allies show unity is always so short only when they are repeatedly "trapped".
When will Europe wake up from the "nightmare"?
(Finish)