European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen Tuesday called for sharper trade weapons to take on U.S. President Donald Trump.
Von der Leyen tasked her pick for trade Commissioner, Phil Hogan, with developing new retaliation powers to hit back specifically against countries that are blocking the dispute settlement system of the World Trade Organization — namely, the United States.
“I want you to look at how we can strengthen our trade toolbox,” von der Leyen told Hogan in her mission letter. “This should include upgrading the EUs Enforcement Regulation to allow us to use sanctions when others adopt illegal measures and simultaneously block the WTO dispute settlement process.”
Von der Leyen also hinted at a more muscular approach towards Chinese subsidies, telling Hogan to “work with the Executive Vice-President for … Digital Age [Margrethe Vestager] to address the distortive effects of foreign subsidies in the internal market.”
The EU has been looking at ways to tackle Chinas massive subsidies, but trade chief Sabine Weyand last week ruled out applying EU state aid law extRead More – Source
