EU Updates its Report on China’s Distortions in Economy

The European Commission has updated its report on state-led distortions in the Chinese economy, adding new sectors and potentially opening the door to anti-dumping complaints from EU chip and clean-tech producers.
The update, published on Wednesday and stretching to 712 pages, adds details of what the EU executive considers to be distortions in sectors of telecom equipment, semiconductors, the rail industry, renewable energy and electric vehicles.
It retains the steel, aluminum, chemicals and ceramics sectors of the initial report in 2017. There is no similar EU report for any other country.
The report is a tool for EU industries to use when filing complaints about dumping practices. If Chinese prices and costs are found to be distorted, they can be replaced with those from another country to calculate normally higher dumping tariffs.
“This could be taken as an invitation to sectors that have not yet brought anti-dumping complaints to explore their use,” said Laurent Ruessmann, partner at trade law firm Ruessmann Beck & Co.
The Commission has typically launched about 10 anti-dumping investigations per year, many concerning steel products.
It is now looking to shield EU firms from cheap clean-tech products, with a review of subsidies received by Chinese wind turbine suppliers and an anti-subsidy investigation into imports of Chinese electric vehicles.
The report, however, will not play a part in these investigations as it only concerns dumping.
The report covers the role of the Chinese state in planning to meet economic objectives, the importance of state-owned enterprises, preferential access to land, labor, raw materials and energy and state support for specific sectors.
In most sectors, including electric vehicles, it refers to Chinese overcapacity.
China's parliament, the National People's Congress, said in March the government would take steps to curb overcapacity. Beijing argues the recent US and EU focus on risks from China's excess capacity is misguided. Its state media has denounced these concerns as part of an effort to limit China's rise.
On Wednesday, China said it was concerned by what it called discriminatory measures by the EU against its firms after the bloc said it would investigate subsidies received by Chinese suppliers of wind turbines destined for its countries.
“The outside world is worried about the rising tendency of protectionism in the EU,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing on Wednesday.
“China is highly concerned about the discriminatory measures taken by the European Union against Chinese companies and even industries,” Mao said, adding that the bloc should abide by World Trade Organization rules and market principles.
Meanwhile the EU's anti-trust commissioner Margrethe Vestager has said the European Commission will look into conditions for the development of wind parks in Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria.
“Today, we are launching a new inquiry into Chinese suppliers of wind turbines,” Vestager said in a speech at Princeton University, in the US state of New Jersey.
“We are investigating the conditions for the development of wind parks in Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria,” she added.
For her part, a European Commission spokeswoman told the German News Agency that the EU investigations relate to suspicions that some wind turbine makers may benefit from an unfair competitive advantage as a result of foreign support.
In her speech to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, Vestager said: “China is for us simultaneously a partner in fighting climate change, an economic competitor, a systemic rival. And the last two dimensions are increasingly converging.”
Vestager said China's “playbook” of subsidizing domestic solar panel suppliers and exporting excess capacity at low prices had resulted in fewer than 3% of solar panels installed in the EU being produced in Europe.
Research service BloombergNEF said prices for Chinese turbines are around 20% below rival US and European products.
The EU imported some $1.42 billion in turbines and components from China last year, customs data showed.
In a related development, a survey released by the German Chamber of Commerce in China has found that nearly two-thirds of German firms feel they encounter unfair competition from local firms in China and are outgunned in terms of access to local officials, information and licenses.
The survey came a few days ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ visit to China for talks with Chinese President Xi and other senior officials.
It showed that 150 companies surveyed from February 22 to March 6 said they face “unfair competition” operating in China, Germany’s largest trading partner.
Over 52% of those surveyed said their primary competitors were private Chinese companies.
Wednesday's survey also showed that 95% of German firms felt that increased competition from Chinese companies was affecting their business, including 70% who felt it was eating into their market share.
Scholz’s trip will be his second to China as chancellor, following his first visit in November 2022.

The dollar headed for a weekly gain on most major peers on Friday as a US-UK trade deal raised hopes of progress in looming US-China talks, while bets of imminent Fed rate cuts receded after the central bank indicated it was in no hurry.

Financial markets are heading into the weekend with the focus squarely on trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing due to begin on Saturday in Switzerland.

The euro touched a one-month low of $1.1197 in Asia and was down about 0.6% for the week. The yen has weakened about 0.4% this week and hit a one-month trough of 146.18 per dollar, before steadying around 145.48 on Friday.

Sterling, which had rallied on news reports of an impending US-UK trade deal, gave back gains when the agreement turned out to be pretty limited and struck a three-week low of $1.3220 in early trade on Friday.

The "general terms" agreement modestly expands agricultural access for both countries and lowers prohibitive US duties on British car exports, but leaves in place the 10% baseline.

"The market reaction of buying USD may reflect greater optimism that such tariff deals are doable," said Steve Englander, global head of G10 currency research at Standard Chartered, in a note to clients.

"Trump's dangling of the prospect of a trade detente with China may be adding to optimism that the global disruption from trade wars may not be as severe as markets have feared," he said.

"For the time being, G10 markets would be relieved if US and China bilateral tariffs were rolled back, even if they remain well above January 19 levels."

Bitcoin has surged back above $100,000, reflecting a refreshed appetite for risk-taking in markets' more speculative corners.

Announcing the UK deal, Trump said he expects substantive negotiations between the US and China this weekend and that tariffs on Beijing of 145% would likely come down.

The administration is weighing a plan to slash the tariff on Chinese imports by more than half, the New York Post reported, citing unidentified sources, though the White House dismissed that as speculation.

The Australian dollar headed for its first weekly drop in a month, with a 0.7% fall to $0.6407. The New Zealand dollar was likewise lower, clinging to support at $0.5895, just above its 200-day moving average.

On the central bank front this week moves were as expected with the Bank of England cutting, while Sweden, Norway and the United States left rates on hold.

However, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks, emphasising the level of uncertainty, were taken as reducing the likelihood the Fed lowers rates any time soon and market pricing for a cut in June has drifted to about 17% from about 55% a week ago.

In contrast with G10 peers, the dollar was lower on several Asian currencies this week after a shock surge in the Taiwan dollar.

After a volatile few days it has settled around 30 to the dollar, more than 6% stronger from where it had finished April. The Singapore dollar is not far from decade highs. The Hong Kong dollar has retreated from the strong side of its band after heavy intervention from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

India's rupee opened under renewed pressure on Friday as conflict between India and Pakistan escalates. It dropped sharply on Thursday and, at 85.55 to the dollar, is eyeing its heaviest weekly fall since 2022.

EU Updates its Report on China’s Distortions in Economy