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26 June 2018
 |
| China and the European Union (The Total Investment
& Insurance Solutions) |
China and the European Union agreed Monday to launch a group that will
work to update global trade rules to address technology policy, subsidies and
other emerging irritants and preserve support for international trade amid U.S.
threats of import controls.
Actions such as U.S. President Donald Trump's unilateral tariff hikes in
a technology dispute with Beijing show World Trade Organization rules need to
keep pace with changes in business, said an EU vice president, Jyrki Katainen.
Katainen said Europe was not siding with Beijing in its dispute with
Trump but was taking action to protect the global system of regulating free
trade. He said the EU wants other governments to join the WTO group.
Companies worry the U.S.-Chinese dispute could chill global trade and
economic growth if other governments respond by raising their own import
barriers. Even before Trump took office, economists were warning countries were
tightening import restrictions and taking steps to favor their companies over
foreign rivals.
U.S. officials complain the WTO, the Geneva-based arbiter of trade
rules, requires an overhaul because it is bureaucratic, rigid and slow to adapt
to changing business conditions.
Katainen said Europe wants to focus on issues including subsidies to
industry, government pressure on foreign companies to hand over technology and
the status of state-owned industry — all areas in which Beijing faces
complaints by Trump as well as other trading partners.
"I don't expect these negotiations to be easy," Katainen said
at a news conference. But if nothing is done, "the environment for
multilateral trade will vanish."
Scott Kennedy, who studies the Chinese economy at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said the EU-China
arrangement is "a huge deal" and risks leaving the United States
isolated.
"It is not in the interests of the United States to just be playing
defense and creating a fortress America while the EU, China and others play
offense and attempt to set the rules of the game for the next century," he
said.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs of 10 percent to 25 percent on up
to $450 billion of Chinese goods. Beijing responded to Washington's first round
of hikes on $34 billion of imports by raising duties on U.S. soybeans, whiskey
and other products.
Other governments have similar complaints but Trump has been more direct
about challenging Beijing and threatening to disrupt exports.
Beijing might agree to talks to deflect further sanctions but is
unlikely to agree to changes that hamper its technology plans, said Mark
Williams of Capital Economics.
"I very much doubt they would agree to anything that would have
teeth and punish them," said Williams. Policies companies object to are
"integral to the growth model China is pursuing," he said.
Beijing agreed to narrow its multibillion-dollar trade surplus with the
United States by purchasing more American goods but scrapped that after Trump
went ahead two weeks ago with a tariff hike on $34 billion of imports.
Beijing also has cut import duties on autos and some consumer goods and
promised to remove limits on foreign ownership in its auto, insurance and
finance industries.
But the Communist government has resisted any change to its plans that
call for challenging U.S. and European technology dominance by creating Chinese
companies capable of competing in fields including clean energy, biotech and
aerospace.
Chinese officials deny foreign companies are required to give up
technology. But in many industries they are compelled to work through state-owned
partners, which requires them to share know-how with potential competitors.
One in five companies that responded to a survey by the European Union
Chamber of Commerce in China released last week said they felt compelled to
hand over technology in exchange for market access.
Trump infuriated U.S. allies — from the EU to Canada and Mexico — last
month by imposing tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on
aluminum. He said imports threatened America's national security — a
justification countries use rarely because it can be easily abused.
Beijing has tried to recruit European allies in its dispute with
Washington, promising visiting leaders including Germany's Chancellor Angela
Merkel in May to open industries wider to their companies.
On Monday, Premier Li Keqiang, China's No. 2 leader, told visiting
French Premier Edouard Philippe that Beijing would allow more imports of beef
and other food from France. Li said French companies were welcome to invest.
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