Cheerleaders to critics: German machinery makers call for EU action on China

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1. Germany’s iconic machine makers used to be among the loudest cheerleaders for ever-closer economic ties between China and Europe.

   Now, as exports dwindle and facing “increasingly strong [Chinese] competitors” beefed up by “unfair state subsidies”, the industry is demanding that Brussels put in place trade barriers to protect it.

   A new position paper published on Thursday by the Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA), representing medium-sized manufacturers that help constitute Germany’s famed Mittelstand group of businesses, marks a dramatic reversal for an industry that until recently lauded the Sino-German economic miracle.

   “The EU should impose countervailing duties on imports from third countries if they violate EU anti-dumping or anti-subsidy rules. China is a particular focus here with its aggressive export policy,” read the VDMA’s paper.

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