Europe between two fires – Liberation

During her third state visit to France, In May of last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping had obviously cited Confucius: “The sage stands in the right middle without bowing on one side or the other. May his firmness are courageous!  » This Friday, less than twenty-four hours after Wall Street experienced one of the worst days of its history, China therefore retaliated to customs duties Announced by Donald Trump by a customs surcharge of the same firmness, 34 %. The main victim of this uncontrolled trade war between two giants could be a third thief, the European Union. With thousands of companies too dependent on the American market and hundreds of millions of consumers exposed to Chinese dumping, Europe is between two fires, and investors are not mistaken. The Paris Stock Exchange has erased all its earnings of the year. In one week, the STOXX 600 pan -European index lost more than 8 %. On scholarship screens, blood red everywhere, already announcing devastation in terms of jobs, closings of factories, projects that will no longer see the light of day, in France as elsewhere.

An emergency « National Industry Council » was announced on Tuesday April 8 in Bercy, to remedy that the Minister of Industry, Marc Ferracci, described as a situation « Absolutely exceptional and worrying ». According to the Financial Times, Emmanuel Macron would have alerted Brussels to the possibility of a gigantic influx in Europe of Chinese goods refused by Washington, while calling for « suspend » Any investment in the United States. But if China can remain a mistress of its destiny, can France? It would undoubtedly be wise to wait for the next American reversals, while the Federal Bank refused on Friday April 4 to lower the rates for fear of recession and the dollar, once a refuge value, continued its fall. Patience is also a sign of political courage, no offense to Confucius.