New York Times (March 11)
“A new round of tariffs on aluminum and steel went into effect overnight. This time, no U.S. trading partner was spared.” The EU will respond with “$28 billion in retaliatory levies next month on American products, including bourbon, jeans and agricultural products.” While EU officials “hope they can still strike a deal…. President Trump seems determined to stick with his protectionist policies.” Immediate market reaction was muted, though “the sell-off has wiped roughly $4 trillion off the benchmark index in less than a month — as concerns grow that the levies will push up prices and slow growth.”
Tags: $4 trillion, Agricultural products, Aluminum, Bourbon, EU, Growth, Jeans, Market reaction, Prices, Protectionist policies, Retaliatory levies, Sell-off, Steel, Tariffs, Trading partner, Trump, U.S.
Reuters (December 23)
“EU industries pay power prices 2-3 times higher than those in the U.S. Taxes made up, on average, 23% of the retail electricity price paid by Europe’s energy-intensive firms in 2023.” In addition, energy-intensive industries face “a more fragmented market than China and difficult access to credit.” Lowering taxes might be a way for policymakers “to offer fast relief” to industry.
Tags: China, Credit, Energy-intensive, EU, Fragmented market, Higher, Industry, Policymakers, Power prices, Relief, Retail electricity, Taxes, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (December 6)
“Better productivity growth has helped the U.S. power past similar economies such as the European Union’s and Canada’s…. Over the past five years, quarterly year-over-year productivity growth has averaged 2.1%, a sharp improvement from growth over the 10 years prior.” This “critical development… has allowed for strong economic output and declining inflation, even as the labor market cools.”
Tags: 2.1%, Canada, declining inflation, Economic output, Economies, EU, Improvement, Labor market, Power, Productivity growth, Strong, U.S.
Le Monde (November 6)
Trump’s second term marks “the end of an American world” and, for Europe, will prove “even more perilous” than his first term. “There is a real risk that Europe will be divided or even fractured…. This threat is existential for the European Union, and its leaders need to be aware of it and prepared to confront it, without waiting for Trump to take office.”
Tags: American world, Divided, EU, Europe, Existential, Fractured, Leaders, Perilous, Prepared, Risk, Second term, Threat, Trump
Wall Street Journal (September 12)
“Investors and policymakers alike are eager for big-bank mergers in the European Union. U.S. banks, which have the benefit of scale and cheaper funding, rule the roost when it comes to dealmaking even in Europe, with France’s BNP Paribas as the only universal bank that comes close to posing a challenge.” With the possible merger of UniCredit and Commerzbank, “technocrats in Brussels might finally get their wish for bigger European banks. But Wall Street still shouldn’t expect any real competition to emerge from this.”
Tags: Big-bank mergers, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, Dealmaking, EU, Funding, Investors, Policymakers, Scale, Technocrats, U.S. banks, UniCredit, Wall Street
New York Times (June 22)
“With billions of dollars in trade at stake, China and the European Union have agreed to engage in talks to try to resolve an escalating dispute over tariffs.” To block the threatened tariffs on electric vehicles, “Beijing would need to persuade a majority of European Union countries, representing at least 65 percent of the bloc’s population, to overrule the European Commission” and it is expected to strategically target Germany, France, Italy and other key countries.
Tags: China, Dispute, Escalating, EU, EVs, France, Germany, Overrule, Resolve, Target, Tariffs, Trade
Automotive News Europe (June 12)
“European automakers are being challenged by an influx of lower-cost EVs from Chinese rivals,” which have surged in popularity, with their EU market share rising to 8% (from less than 1% in 2019), and potential to reach 15% in 2025. Still, Mercedes, BMW and VW all lined up against the EU’s new 38% tariff on EVs exported from China because “China is a key profit center” for the German automakers who “could face counter measures in China.”
Tags: 38% tariff, BMW, Challenged, China, Chinese rivals, Counter measures, EU, EVs, German automakers, Influx, Market share, Mercedes, Popularity, Profit center, VW
Deutsche Welle (February 2)
“EU member states on Friday finally came to agreement and approved new laws governing the safety and use of artificial intelligence, or AI…. The crux of the problem in finding unanimity came down to the balance between giving companies enough maneuvering room to make the development of AI products lucrative within the EU, while at the same time establishing rules for the use of a technology that is already affecting every aspect of society.”
Tags: Agreement, Approved, Artificial intelligence, Companies, EU, Lucrative, Rules, Safety, Society, Technology, Unanimity
Markets Insider (January 17)
“The US and European Union are seeing large stockpiles of solar panels after soaring manufacturing capacity fueled a substantial oversupply.” At year end, “an estimated 45 gigawatts of modules in the US and 90 gigawatts in the EU had piled up, nearly twice the forecast installations for 2024.” The glut is leading to “even lower prices” and “fierce competition between manufacturers,” with “less efficient manufacturers… bound to lose out, as overcapacity and low module prices add to financial challenges.”
Tags: 2024, 45 GW, 90 GW, Competition, EU, Forecast installations, Glut, Manufacturing capacity, Overcapacity, Oversupply, Prices, Soaring, Solar panels, Stockpiles, U.S.
CNN (January 15)
“Germany’s economy shrank last year for the first time since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic… increasing the risk of an economic contraction in the wider euro area.” GDP dropped 0.3%, both during 2023 overall and during Q4. “The data bodes ill for the entire area that uses the euro because Germany is the largest of its 20 economies.”
