Trade
Trade is a highly politicised issue, so it is surprising that it is not a bigger area of business for consultancies and law firms than it actually is.
The EU is the world’s biggest exporter of manufactured goods and services, and it is the biggest import market for over 100 countries. Thanks to the Commission’s powerful competencies in EU trade law, businesses are sometimes involved in trade defence measures, primarily anti-dumping and anti-subsidy actions against imports from countries outside the EU. China is often at the centre of these disputes and this poses a challenge for multinational companies who often do not support legitimate trade complaints against China because of its market potential, and for fear of retaliation and the potential interruption of supply chains. Free Trade Agreements have also been a source of trade business for firms representing sectors, standing to gain or lose from their conclusion.
The new EU foreign subsidies regulation has now resulted in several high-profile investigations, including dawn raids in Poland and the Netherlands on the premises of a Chinese company and looking at subsidies to Chinese windpower equipment manufacturers. As the Financial Times recently reported “The defining case on the horizon is EVs. The Chinese car company BYD is already investing in Hungary, and the manufacturer Chery is planning to build EVs in Spain. The Commission ordering BYD or Chery to divest or repay any subsidies from the Chinese state, with a potentially serious impact on production, EV prices and jobs in Europe, would be a seriously inflammatory move.”