Europe's political elite is belatedly confronting the electoral cost of deindustrialization, as right-wing gains in local elections expose surging voter anger over globalist policies that have crushed the industrial base. The push to curb cheap Chinese imports suggests Brussels is scrambling for political survival, as Nomura analysts recently said elections across the continent over the next year and a half are expected to shift right.
Bloomberg reports that the EU is preparing restrictions on imports of chemicals, furniture, and machinery from China, expanding efforts to shield domestic manufacturers and narrow the massive trade deficit with China, which stands at $404 billion. The report cited people familiar with the matter.
"Our industries have called for action and we have heard them, and we will respond, including some more safeguards," Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said earlier this month.
The proposed safeguards build on earlier news that Brussels aims to implement the Chinese hybrid vehicle cap in December to shield the EU's crumbling automotive industry, as cheap overseas cars gain market share and leave domestic companies like VW laying off tens of thousands of workers.
Brussels has finally chosen to move up the "escalation ladder" with China, risking retaliation from Beijing as its own political power appears to be eroding acro
