EU finally has a plan to fend off the US and China, but it's running out of time

"The European Union is fighting to salvage industries under threat from American and Chinese competitors that have eroded the defense and economic systems upholding the continent for 70 years. But A senior EU official warned that the bloc hasn't yet grasped the problem's full scale and that things seem to be getting worse. The EU has taken a piecemeal approach to protecting industries and has mostly concentrated on fixing past problems rather than crafting a forward-looking strategy, the official cautioned."

"Europe needs a plan to avoid being choked, said Maria Demertzis, who leads the Economy, Strategy and Finance Center at the Brussels-based Conference Board think tank. We need to apply industrial policies, and we need to be unapologetic about it, she said. We need to stop worrying about defending a multilateral system that is unable to deal with unfair practices and prevent coercion."

"In response, the European Commission, which handles trade matters for the EU, is considering forcing Chinese firms to hand over technology to European companies if they want to operate locally, Bloomberg reported earlier, mimicking Beijing's own policies. The EU is also discussing giving preferential treatment to domestic firms bidding for public contracts worth about 2.5 trillion euros ($2.9 trillion) a year."

The European Union is mobilizing to protect industries threatened by American and Chinese competitors that have weakened defense and economic systems underpinning the continent for seven decades. EU officials warn the full scale of the problem remains underestimated and worsening. Current measures are piecemeal and focused on past fixes rather than a forward-looking industrial strategy. Calls for unapologetic industrial policies and reduced reliance on a multilateral system that fails to prevent unfair practices have intensified. Proposals include forcing foreign firms to transfer technology to operate locally and giving preference to domestic bidders for public contracts worth roughly €2.5 trillion annually.

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