Europe Must Confront China to Preserve Free Trade
The article analyzes the competing trade strategies of the European Union and the United States in shaping the global trading system. The EU has signed numerous free-trade agreements emphasizing rules-based order, labor protections, environmental standards, and digital provisions, while the Trump administration's Reciprocal Trade Agreements (ARTs) are bilateral, discriminatory, and flexible. The EU's deals offer stability and innovation but fail to address the primary threat: China's export dominance, fueled by massive subsidies, intellectual property theft, and forced technology transfers. The US agreements, though less comprehensive, actively counter China through tighter rules of origin, investment screening, and export controls. The author argues Europe must adopt similar measures to protect free trade from Chinese non-compliance with global rules.
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