Driving toward a trade war with China

Buckle up. This week on the EU Confidential podcast, we’re talking cars. And a looming trade war.

European Union countries are split over whether it’s a good idea to take on Beijing and use duties to hit the brakes on China’s booming (and heavily subsidized) electric car industry. At the same time, the EU is trying to shift to greener cars. Seems contradictory? It is. Abigaël Vasselier of the Mercator Institute for China Studies joins POLITICO’s Koen Verhelst and Jordyn Dahl to sort it all out, with host Sarah Wheaton. 

Next, POLITICO’s Max Griera brings us inside the dramatic confrontation at the European Parliament with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, along with highlights from his interview with Orbán’s upstart new challenger, Péter Magyar. 

Further reading:

China’s hit at EU brandy sparks fear of all-out trade war, by Camille Gijs, Koen Verhelst and Judith Chetrit

EU countries overcome German resistance to back duties on Chinese EVs – POLITICO, by Koen Verhelst and Hans von der Burchard

A trip across Europe in an electric car, one charge at a time, by Jordyn Dahl