Germany Between the Next China Shock and New Transatlantic Alignment

China’s industrial and trade policies have tremendous consequences for Europe. Core industries such as the automotive sector, machinery, chemicals and aircraft are facing unprecedented, even existential competition. Pressure is mounting for Germany, together with the European Union to enter a new phase of defensive trade policy. But how? America’s own actions, for all of their regulatory creativity, demonstrate that there is no blueprint in modern economic history for managing the China challenge.

“China shock 2.0: The cost of Germany’s complacency” by Sander Tordoir and Brad W. Setser is one of the most consequential and widely read trade papers of the past several years. Together with Brad Setser, currently the Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and previously a Senior Advisor to the United States Trade Representative and Treasury Department, we will discuss what is at stake for Germany’s international competitiveness, which measures the EU should apply against China, and how to hang onto the tenets of transatlantic alignment despite its rollercoasters.

Moderation:

• Julia Friedlander, CEO, Atlantik-Brücke