Is there an upside for China in the US-EU tariff row?
- The United States is planning new duties on European products in a 16-year dispute over aircraft subsidies
- It could create more common ground between Beijing and Brussels but there are drawbacks, observers say
“Anything that distracts the attention of the US or EU from the trade issues they have with China and undermines their ability to work together cooperatively would accrue to China’s benefit,” said Stephen Olson, a former trade negotiator with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and now a research fellow at the Hong Kong-based Hinrich Foundation.
On Tuesday, the USTR announced that it was considering putting tariffs on US$3.1 billion of European imports, including aircraft, cheese, ham, beer and gin, from France, Germany, Spain, and Britain.
The US tariffs are likely to be imposed after July 26, when the public comment period ends, according to the USTR.
The EU criticised the US plan, saying it “creates uncertainty for companies and inflicts unnecessary economic damage on both sides of the Atlantic”.