European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, discusses the E.U.'s investigation into Chinese wind turbine subsidies and the challenges of competing with low-cost green technology. The conversation also touches on U.S. climate industrial policy and the importance of global collaboration in the green tech industry.
The E.U. is investigating Chinese wind turbine subsidies to address unfair competition in green tech industries.
The European Commission introduced the Foreign Subsidies Regulation to ensure fair competition and prevent market distortions.
Deep dives
Investigating Chinese Wind Turbines
The European Union's Antitrust Commissioner announced an investigation into Chinese wind turbines, questioning if their low prices were due to unfair subsidies that could harm European competitors. This investigation reflects concerns about China's dominance in green tech industries and the challenge of balancing decarbonization efforts with supporting European tech companies.
EU's Response to Unfair Competition
To address potentially unfair competition from China's subsidized products, the European Commission introduced the Foreign Subsidies Regulation to investigate instances where foreign subsidies may distort bidding processes. The goal is to ensure fair competition and prevent long-term negative impacts on market competition and pricing. While there are concerns about trade tensions, efforts align with World Trade Organization guidelines to promote fair global trade practices and protect economic security.
Europe wants clean energy, but it's struggling to compete with the low cost of China's green technology. The E.U. just announced it's investigating the subsidies received by Chinese wind turbine suppliers, which play a part in those low costs.
On today's episode, we speak with Margrethe Vestager, the European Commissioner for Competition, about how the E.U. is trying to build and maintain a competitive green tech industry in the face of low-price Chinese imports. And we ask how the U.S.'s climate industrial policy fits into all this action.
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