The European Union (EU) will not turn to China in the economic sphere, even if trade negotiations with the US fail. This was stated to the Euractiv portal by Michal Baranowski, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Technology of Poland, which holds the presidency of the Council of the EU.
According to him, Brussels will definitely not say: “This does not work with the US and we will just switch to China“.
This week, as the portal recalls, EU countries agreed to limit access of Chinese medical equipment manufacturers to public procurement in the community in accordance with the 2022 law on the EU's International Procurement Instruments (IPI). Such restrictive measures could lead to the “opening of a new front“ in trade relations with China against the backdrop of Brussels' attempts to achieve a balance in trade with Beijing, as well as in connection with the introduction of retaliatory tariffs by the US.
Baranovsky noted that the EU is ready to introduce retaliatory tariffs on US exports if Brussels and Washington fail to reach a trade agreement.
As previously reported, the European Commission is developing a package of additional tariffs on a list of US goods worth EUR 95 billion. The introduction of such tariffs on these goods could become, according to the EC statement, a retaliatory measure by the European Union if the ongoing trade negotiations between the EU and the US do not lead to a mutually acceptable result. The EU has not yet retaliated against the US, while US tariffs of 10% to 25% apply to around 70% of European exports to the US.