For Clément Fontan, professor of European economic policy at UcLouvain and Saint-Louis University Brussels: “The great fear of European leaders is the relocation of a whole series of industries to the United States. But that seems hard to imagine right away. On the other hand, on questions of electric cars and the technological capacities they require, Europe is lagging behind the United States and also the Chinese. Competitiveness, for me, is the main risk for Europe.”
He pursues : “If the European Union wants to do like the United States, they will have to agree on a European subsidy for, for example, all the production of electric cars. And that is not an integrated skill. It will therefore be necessary to obtain the unanimity of the members. However, if they want ‘to play’ with customs barriers, they can do so without the need for unanimity. But there is a risk of a trade war which would first affect the most exporting countries. And we think of Germany, in particular“, concludes the professor.
In 2018, Joe Biden’s predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, launched the United States into a ruthless trade war with its trading partners, including the European Union, which had severely penalized the countries. Berlin had then feared the imposition of punitive customs duties of 20% on German cars.