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Bulgaria: Chinese rail maker CRRC withdraws from public tender after EU launched probe into it over suspected state subsidies (www.barrons.com)

submitted 7 months ago by 0x815@feddit.de to c/europe@feddit.de

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Brussels had announced the probe on February 16, with EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton at the time saying CRRC Qingdao Sifang Locomotive was thought to have relied on subsidies to "submit an unduly advantageous offer" to try to win the tender for electric trains in Bulgaria.

EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton said that Europe's single market remained open "for firms that are truly competitive and play fair" but that Brussels will take "all necessary measures to preserve Europe's economic security and competitiveness".

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[–] honey_im_meat_grinding@lemmy.blahaj.zone -5 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (4 children)

The headline sounded odd considering EU countries aren't exactly averse to subsidies, but the kicker is this:

The inquiry, announced last month, was the first of its kind and marked the maiden use of a foreign subsidies regulation designed to stop state handouts from distorting the EU’s single market.

So it's protectionism that'll apply especially to poorer and up-and-coming countries that don't have established private megacorps (i.e. their companies depend on economic strategies like window guidance to grow).

I'm neutral about protectionism in general, but contextually it can have negative outcomes - e.g. the EU's agricultural policies have not been good for poorer countries. At a time when poorer countries are bleeding money as we can see by tracking Net Resource Transfers (with China being one of the few exceptions), it's a little tougher to be happy about policies like these.

[–] MrMakabar@feddit.de 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The EU just looked into the potential for dumping. They were not finished with the process and therefore did not punish CRRC at all.

Also China is not that poor. GDP per capita is only a third less then that of Romania.

[–] honey_im_meat_grinding@lemmy.blahaj.zone -1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

The EU just looked into the potential for dumping. They were not finished with the process and therefore did not punish CRRC at all.

What's your point here? There are actual quotes in the article claiming the pull-out as a result of the regulation, meaning they didn't pull out because they wanted to.

Also China is not that poor. GDP per capita is only a third less then that of Romania.

But both are "up-and-coming" as I said alongside "poorer" so I'm not sure why you're arguing semantics here. China is one of very few exceptions when it comes to actively losing money to richer countries (Net Resource Transfers). This regulation is not about China, it targets any foreign company, and if you understood my post, you'd know that the vast majority of them are being drained and in need of economic help.

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