EU puts trade war with China on the cards

At a parliamentary confirmation hearing on Monday, EU trade chief-in-waiting Maros Sefcovic clearly showed his tough stance on the European Union's trade issues with China.

The Slovakian politician, who would also be the commissioner for economic security should he clear a vote by the members of the European Parliament later this month, described China as "our third biggest and most challenging" trading partner, and vowed to "rebalance" ties and be "more assertive in challenging structural imbalances and unfair practices" including "non-market policies driving overcapacity".

Regarding the ongoing negotiations between China and the EU over the "anti-subsidy" tariffs the latter slapped on Chinese-made electric vehicles from Oct 30, Sefcovic seemed to miss the point, saying that the European Commission hoped to avoid any further Chinese "retaliation" through dialogue, while the current focus of the consultations is on whether the two sides can agree on minimum prices of the Chinese-made EVs in the EU market.