As Vilnius pursues close ties with Taipei, the EU proposes new trade weapons to counter Beijing’s economic coercion
On Wednesday, the European Commission is preparing to confront China over a diplomatic dispute with the Republic of Lithuania, and as the trade dispute between China and the United States becomes more and more politicized, a new strategy to claim its benefits I am considering it.
In recent years, the EU has become vulnerable to economic coercion from larger powers due to its multipolar design and the difficulty of establishing consensus among all member states. Previously, it was difficult for EU policy makers to obtain the unanimous approval needed to retaliate against economic extortion. Even if EU member states have agreed on a particular issue, the issue of collective action arises in that the member states link the approval of certain measures to irrelevant national goals such as: last year When Cyprus sought to link the approval of EU sanctions against Belarus to action against Turkey.
The new proposal lowers the standards by which the European Commission can impose sanctions on non-members and allows national communities to act resolutely in the face of economic aggression by non-members. ..
“If non-EU member states put pressure on EU companies to influence EU policy, [t]His tools help prevent that coercion, “the European Commission posted. twitter on Wednesday. “The goal is to counter such foreign pressures, repel them, promote business and trade, and secure employment throughout the EU.”
Anti-forces may conduct their first test this week as the Chinese government is blocking trade in Lithuania due to Eastern European diplomatic gestures against Taiwan, also known as the People’s Republic of China. Beijing considers Taiwan a separate state, stating that Taiwan is itself a de facto independent island of autonomy.
Like many conflicts, including Taiwan, this started with a matter of semantics. Lithuania, like other such de facto embassies throughout Europe, has offended the People’s Republic of China by opening a new diplomatic office in the People’s Republic of China. This new Diplomatic Office uses the name “Taiwan”, unlike other ROC Diplomatic Offices in Europe that refer to politics in the CCP-approved term “Taiwan”.
China responds to the announcement of this new development Resigned ambassador From Vilnius Imposing strict sanctions The Baltic States have suspended freight trains to Vilnius and suspended the approval of Lithuanian producers’ export licenses.
China is an obvious target for new trade weapons, but some EU policymakers are keen to use China to claim European interests to the United States. During US negotiations with Iran to restore the terms of Iran’s nuclear deal, many European policy makers were dissatisfied with their perceived omissions from the process. Some advocate using this diplomatic tool to retaliate against American tactics in diplomacy and trade. However, this approach is controversial, and EU Atlanticists want a closer relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.
This new tool has been criticized by some Europeans for significantly lowering the standards for EU negotiators to act unilaterally without the explicit consent of all member states. Countries seeking closer relationships To the Chinese Communist Party. If tensions escalate into a full-scale trade war, the new tool faces opposition from Europeans who are not keen to be dragged into an economic battle with world powers on behalf of less than 3 million small Baltic states. There is likely to be.Furthermore, in Japan warning The EU will reconsider its measures, probably due to the weakness of its efforts to prevent China’s regional hegemony.
Despite these controversies, the new proposal has great potential to reshape multilateral negotiations with EU economic rivals. Brussels is preparing to confront Beijing over a conflict with Lithuania, so new diplomatic weapons may not wait long before they are used.
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