Protest using 10 coffins to symbolise struggling manufacturing industry to take place in Brussels Job losses in EU manufacturing will rapidly increase unless Brussels stops the “colonisation” of industry by Chinese component manufacturers, a leading industry trade body has warned. Eurometal predicts 300,000 job losses in manufacturing in the rest of 2026 because of expanding competition from China, which is now enjoying a record €1bn-a-day trade surplus with the bloc. Continue reading… The Guardian
Tag: Europe
The Guardian view on rare earths: it’s common sense to secure essential supply chains | Editorial
The alarm sounded 16 years ago. In 2010, China blocked exports of key rare earths to Japan in a row over disputed islands in the East China Sea. The critical minerals are essential to everything from advanced weaponry and iPhones to electric vehicle batteries and wind turbines, so the rest of the world took note. But it didn’t take much action. China still accounts for about 70% of rare-earth mining globally and 90% of separation and processing. Then, last year, Beijing forced Donald Trump to back away from his trade…
Chinese carmaker Chery to set up UK research centre
The Chinese carmaker behind the irreverently nicknamed “Temu Range Rover” is plotting further UK expansion with a major research and development centre in England. Chery, which makes the Jaecoo and Omoda car brands, said the launch of a new R&D site was “the next step in our long-term plan” for Britain as it also moves towards manufacturing its cars in the UK. Chery’s sales are growing at breakneck pace in Britain. In July, the Chery, Omoda and Jaecoo brands accounted for nearly 8% of UK market share, up from 3%…
Europe Hurries to Fund More Cutting-Edge Businesses to Compete With China and U.S.
The shiny cylindrical tanks and slant-roofed control panels shoved against a wall in C3 Biotech’s laboratory have essentially been turned into a multimillion-dollar graveyard of high-grade stainless steel equipment. All of this state-of-the art gear was discarded during the company’s quest to discover a cheap way to convert agricultural waste like potato peels or sugar beet pulp into acrylic glass, a material widely used in manufacturing. Nigel Scrutton, a co-founder of C3 Biotech in Stockport, England, makes a point of showing off these expensive failures before explaining that the eureka…
Weather tracker: Europe breaks more heat records as temperatures soar
High pressure has dominated central and eastern Europe in early August, breaking temperature records across the region. Austria recorded a high of 41.2C (106.2F), while Slovakia reached 42.2C. Hungary hit a peak of 41.8C, surpassing a record set in 1905, while overnight temperatures remained above 28C in some areas, marking it as a tropical night. The extreme temperatures have been driven by a heat dome beneath the high-pressure system, which traps warm air close to the surface. The prolonged heat has dried out soil and vegetation, creating conditions conducive to…
Chinese EV sales surge to new high in Europe putting tariffs under scrutiny
Imports this year now account for 14% of the market amid claims vehicles are being dumped in the EU and UK Chinese electric car sales have risen across Europe to a record high driven by strong demand and low tariffs in the UK and a surge in buyers in Italy. Against a backdrop of claims that Chinese carmakers are “dumping” state-subsidised vehicles in the EU and UK to gain market share, the figures will give impetus to calls for quotas and higher tariffs to protect European manufacturers. Continue reading… The…
China’s Export Boom Rolls On Despite Trade Backlash
Another month, another trade surplus of more than $100 billion for China. Even as countries around the world move to curb the flood of Chinese goods, China’s export machine continues to steam ahead. The country posted a trade surplus of $112.5 billion in July, according to data released Friday by the General Administration of Customs. It was the third straight month in which China’s exports exceeded its imports by more than $100 billion — a staggering sum that puts the country on pace to surpass last year’s record $1.19 trillion…
BMW to cut ‘as many as 8,000 jobs’ under pressure from Chinese rivals
BMW is planning to cut as many as 8,000 jobs in Germany, according to reports, in the latest sign of Europe’s largest carmakers reducing costs under pressure from Chinese rivals. The Munich-headquartered company has started a voluntary redundancy programme agreed with employee representatives, a BMW spokesperson said on Wednesday. The company and its works council had agreed a severance programme targeting the administration and development divisions, the spokesperson said. Production operations are excluded. BMW’s total workforce is about 160,000. Germany’s carmakers have come under intense pressure in recent years with…
The Guardian view on noise pollution: keep it down | Editorial
The roar of late-night traffic is not just annoying for those trying to sleep. It can also have profound effects on their health. A pioneering new study, published this month, has found a clear link between road noise and Parkinson’s disease. The research, which followed more than 3 million Danish participants, found a modest but consistent effect: for every 11.5dB rise in noise level, the risk of the degenerative disorder rose by 3% over the 18-year study. The study adds to the growing body of evidence that auditory nuisance is…
Canadian Intern at NATO Military HQ Is Arrested on Suspicion of Spying
The authorities in Belgium said on Saturday that a Canadian intern at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s military headquarters had been arrested on suspicion of spying for another country. The Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office said the woman was “of Chinese origin” and was arrested on Friday. “She is suspected of spying on behalf of a third country and of being a member of a criminal organization,” it said in a statement, which did not identify the country or the criminal organization. The intern was first flagged by the security services…