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Exactly. This is the fundamental problem with Europe. I would understand the protectionism if it were part of a geopolitical strategy to weaken China, whose gov

Exactly. This is the fundamental problem with Europe. I would understand the protectionism if it were part of a geopolitical strategy to weaken China, whose government is not aligned with European values. Or maybe as a way to bolster national security with local manufacturing. But if it is for economic or labor reasons, this is at best a short-term strategy to appease voters that doesn’t fix the underlying issue, which is that Europe lags in innovation. Fixing that is hard, and I don’t think governments that chase votes for election with populist strategies can also have the right policies to fix the underlying issues.

alephnerd 2y ago
> Or maybe as a way to bolster national security with local manufacturing It is this. The push for EV and Battery Tech tariffs are part of the EU's Net Zero Act [0] which itself is a reaction to America's IRA [1]. The EU (especially Germany) still remembers how the German PV fabrication industry collapsed due to Chinese subsidizes [2][3]. [0] - https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal/green-deal-industrial-plan/net-zero-industry-act_en https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-... [1] - https://home.cib.natixis.com/articles/european-net-zero-industry-act-an-effective-response-to-the-us-ira https://home.cib.natixis.com/articles/european-net-zero-indu... [2] - https://www.bruegel.org/blog-post/protectionist-dog-didnt-bark https://www.bruegel.org/blog-post/protectionist-dog-didnt-ba... [3] - https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/germany-mulls-options-protect-domestic-solar-manufactures-price-dumping-document-2023-09-28/ https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/germany-mulls-option...