Centre for European Reform

Elisabetta Cornago, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, stated that the EU is actively seeking solutions to enhance trade defences, anticipating a possible increase in redirected Chinese exports. However, she also cautioned that stricter restrictions on Chinese technology imports could potentially disrupt the EU’s transition to greener technologies. By enforcing stringent trade measures in the name of innovation support, the EU risks raising prices, which may slow down consumer adoption of electric vehicles and other clean technologies.

Certainly, there may be some political upside to basking in reflected Trumpian glory. “The coming Trump presidency will most probably embolden Europe’s far right and illiberal actors,” concluded experts at the Centre for European Reform think-tank.

The US has so far provided some $60bn in weaponry and ammunition since February 2022 and the Europeans a similar amount (although more in financial aid). The Europeans can surely afford to do more. If they don’t have the budgetary space, they should think of other ways of raising the money, such as common EU debt or loans to national capitals from the European Stability Mechanism, the eurozone’s rescue fund. (See this Centre for European Reform analysis of the options.)

»Det værste scenario, men også et sandsynligt scenario, er, at Trump vil prøve at tvinge de europæiske lande til at vælge side mellem USA og Kina. Det sætter os virkelig i en slem kattepine, for de europæiske lande handler meget med begge parter, « siger Zach Meyers fra Centre for European Reform.