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cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/11516471

Brussels has warned [UK PM] Andy Burnham that Britain would need to raise tariffs on Chinese cars and more closely align with EU trade policy if it wants to avoid “made in Europe” barriers that would hit key exports.

In response to weeks of intense lobbying to secure equal treatment for UK products, the EU told London that its best solution would be to join the bloc’s customs union, according to two people familiar with the matter.

“A customs union would solve most of the problems of ‘made in Europe’,” said an EU official. “And also the question of tariff differences, which leads to fears the Chinese could avoid our tariffs by routing through the UK.”

The “made in Europe” policy is intended to favour EU manufacturers on subsidies and public procurement in an effort to defend the bloc against competition from China.

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“The concern today is no longer a hyper-competitive, globalised Britain on Europe’s doorstep, but a Britain that could become a backdoor into the European market for Chinese goods,” an EU official said.

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At the same time, the UK is pressing Brussels to include its car, chemical and energy supply chains in the bloc’s “made in Europe” agenda, which it fears could exclude British industry from valuable EU subsidy programmes.

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Nissan’s European boss Massimiliano Messina warned this month that the UK risked becoming a “corridor” into the EU for Chinese EVs. “The whole UK has to adjust some of [the country’s] tariff policy,” he said.

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In a sign of rising tensions between London and Brussels over differing approaches to trade with China, the EU this month announced it would monitor exports of titanium dioxide into Europe from the UK.

The EU move came after the UK’s competition authorities cleared China’s largest producer of the industrial whitening agent to purchase a plant in Teesside, north-east England, that went into receivership last October.

“The message is that if the UK doesn’t align in trade, it will lose a lot of access. The EU will protect more against the UK,” said Marie-Sophie Dibling, a partner at law firm Cassidy Levy Kent, which has represented the EU chemicals industry.

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The [UK’s} Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade said it was looking to explore deeper co-operation with the EU …

“We always put trade measures in place independently and based only on the UK’s economic interests and those of industry. However, Europe and the UK face many of the same challenges, which is why it is vital we protect trade flows between us,” it added.

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  • Akh@lemmy.world
    2·
    2 months ago

    Well and on top is the rare earth issues… China has ready access to parts needed for Batteries etc so that they can be made super cheap.

    • tardigrade@scribe.disroot.orgOP
      2·
      2 months ago

      This plays also a role, but a smaller one as the rare earth don’t add much to the ability to offer cheaper prices, according to many analysts (such as by Rhodium Group, for example).

      But the rare earth mining projects under Chinese control don’t not only raise social (the forced labour allegation also exist in the mining industry worldwide) but also environmental issues. The problem is that China applies very lax ecological standards when it comes to mining in both its domestic as well as China-controlled foreign mining.

      Rare-earth mining has devastated China’s environment, as one investigation found some years ago,

      … The pollution resulting from rare-earth mining has created soil incapable of supporting crops and water supplies have been contaminated. Chinese officials have attempted to counteract these threats by shutting down a large number of mines, especially the smaller and the illegal ones, but there are still severe, large-scale threats that remain unresolved …

      From north near the Mongolian border to south in Guangdong, China is struggling to clean-up the environment polluted by mining and some claim they are making things worse. The clean-up process is expensive and time-consuming, and some say it could be 50-100 years for the environment to recover …

      In Myanmar, a country where China supports the ruling military junta and that controls nearly 90% of global rare earth processing capacity, the rare earth boom comes at terrible cost to the environment and local communities. A recent investigation suggests that the impact on workers’ health, on the environment and on local communities continue to be devastating.

      A similar situation can be found in Indonesia, which is home to the world’s largest Nickel reserves. As 75% of the Indonesian Nickel industry is controlled by China, Jakarta recently changed its policy to prioritize domestic processing so that the country could benefit more from its own reserves. As a result, Chinese firms like Tsingshan, Huayou, and Brunp face output cuts and sunk assets, which led to protest by the Chinese party-state,

      … The Chinese business association in Indonesia had collectively and publicly lodged a complaint with the host government in this manner. The fact that the letter was copied to the Chinese embassy made it clear it was no longer just a business dispute … Chinese firms control about 75% of Indonesia’s nickel refining capacity, with Tsingshan and Jiangsu Delong alone accounting for more than 70% …

      Let’s hope Indonesia will prevail in this, and others will follow, particularly in the implementation of adequate environmental and labour protection laws.