CHINA - As reciprocal tariffs kick in, the EU is expecting goods formerly destined for the US to seek EU markets, with Chinese renewables, steel and electronics topping a list of prod-ucts the Commission is keeping its eye on.
The side effect of tariffs is overcapacity, and European Commission officials describe the journey that products subject to tariffs are likely to make from previously attractive US markets towards European shores as “dynamic”. “There might be trade diversion, with some countries which can no longer export their goods to the US choosing alternative markets,” an EU senior official said.
“Of course we [the EU] will be ready to defend our market, we are not going to absorb whatever volume and quantity,” this official added. China is in the EU's sights after its imports to the US were hit on Wednesday by 54% cumulative US tariffs. Its steel is likely to be one of the overcapacity products to spill onto the EU market, especially in view of the faltering domestic Chinese construction sector. “Steel has not been able to be consumed domestically in China,” the same senior official said, pointing the risk of diversion towards the EU. (Euronews)
