Archive for the ‘European Union’ Category

Seeking Safety in Cyprus, They’re Stuck in Island’s U.N. Buffer Zone – The New York Times

Nearly 30 asylum seekers are stuck in the United Nations-controlled buffer zone between the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus and the internationally recognized south amid a crackdown by the Cypriot authorities on undocumented migration following a steep uptick in Syrians arriving from Lebanon.

The groups 13 people from Syria and 14 from elsewhere in the Middle East, plus Africa and Asia are in different locations in the buffer zone, which extends about 112 miles across Cyprus, a Mediterranean nation that is a member of the European Union, and bisects the capital, Nicosia. They arrived in the area, known as the Green Line, on foot from the occupied north.

If the migrants return to the north, an area that covers about a third of the island and is recognized only by Turkey, they face deportation, because the administration there has no legal infrastructure for providing asylum. Crossing into the buffer zone from the occupied north would also constitute a crime of trespassing under that administration and would be likely to lead to their deportation.

President Nikos Christodoulides of Cyprus said last week that the authorities there would provide migrants currently in the buffer zone with humanitarian aid but would not permit them to enter the south for fear of setting a precedent. We will not allow the creation of a new route for illegal migration, he told reporters last Tuesday.

As a member of the European Union, Cyprus is responsible for regulating entry into the bloc, and Konstantinos Letymbiotis, a government spokesman, said last month that the country would continue its effective supervision along the length of the buffer zone.

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Seeking Safety in Cyprus, They're Stuck in Island's U.N. Buffer Zone - The New York Times

What to Know About Europe’s Extra Tariffs on Chinese Electric Cars – The New York Times

The European Union said on Wednesday that it would impose additional tariffs of up to 38 percent on electric cars built in China, a move it said would help level the playing field for automakers in Europe.

The tariffs, which have been expected for months, come on top of existing 10 percent duties, but the level of their impact has been disputed. Some European automakers argue they will set off a trade war, but other experts have said they will not stop Chinas dominance in the industry.

Instead, they argue that incentives to make low-emission cars more attractive to drivers are needed instead, if the European Union hopes to meet its goal to ban the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles in 2035.

Industry experts predict that the increased duties on electric vehicles from China will hurt consumers more than they do Chinese automakers, by increasing the price of the most affordable electric cars on the market.

But according to an investigation by the European Union, the entire supply chain of Chinese electric cars enjoys government subsidies that allow automakers there to drastically reduce their production costs. This gives Chinese producers an unfair competitive edge over their European rivals, the European investigation found.

BYDs Dolphin model, for example, sells in Europe for about 32,400 euros, or about $34,900, compared with nearly 40,000 for a Tesla Model Y and 37,000 for a Volkswagen ID.4.

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What to Know About Europe's Extra Tariffs on Chinese Electric Cars - The New York Times

The EU slaps additional tariffs on Chinese EV imports – The Verge

The European Union will place an additional tariff on vehicles imported from China starting next month, the commission announced on Wednesday. The extra tariffs go as high as 38 percent, adding to the existing 10 percent duty the EU imposes on foreign vehicles.

The move comes after a monthslong investigation concluded that Chinese EV makers benefit from unfair state-backed subsidization, allowing them to sell their vehicles for cheaper than rivals. China-made EVs accounted for around 37 percent of all EV imports in the EU, according to a recent study from independent research provider Rhodium Group.

The European Commission says its imposing the new tariffs to remove the substantial unfair competitive advantage of Chinese EVs and to ensure they compete on a level playing field. The tariffs vary by company, with BYD facing a 17.4 percent duty, Geely at 20 percent, and SAIC at 38.1 percent.

Chinas Ministry of Commerce isnt happy with the changes. The EU ignored the facts and WTO [World Trade Organization] rules, ignored repeated strong objections from China, and ignored the appeals and dissuasions of many EU member states governments and industries, the agency said in a statement.

President Joe Biden made a similar move in the US last month, increasing tariffs on Chinese EVs from 25 percent to 100 percent. This is in response to fear in the industry that Chinas cheap EVs could flood the markets and potentially put domestic automakers out of business.

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The EU slaps additional tariffs on Chinese EV imports - The Verge

Battered by Far Right in E.U. Vote, Macron Calls for New Elections in France – The New York Times

President Emmanuel Macron of France, battered by a crushing defeat from the extreme right in European elections, dissolved the lower house of Parliament on Sunday and called for legislative elections beginning on June 30.

His decision, announced in a television broadcast to the nation, was a measure of the tumult created by Mr. Macrons severe defeat in elections to the European Parliament. Projections gave the National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen and her wildly popular protg, Jordan Bardella, about 31.5 percent of the vote, and Mr. Macrons Renaissance party about 15.2 percent.

The rise of nationalists and demagogues is a danger for our nation and for Europe, Mr. Macron said. After this day, I cannot go on as though nothing has happened.

The French leader has always been a passionate supporter of the 27-nation European Union, seeing in it the sole means for Europe to count in the world and calling on it to achieve strategic autonomy through ever greater integration. But the political winds have turned and many French people appear to favor Europe less, not more.

Mr. Macrons decision, on the eve of the summer Olympic Games that begin in Paris in July, ushered in a period of deep political uncertainty in France. If the National Rally repeats its performance in national elections, the country could become nearly ungovernable, with Mr. Macron confronting a Parliament hostile to everything he believes in.

Its a serious, weighty decision, he acknowledged. But above all, its an act of trust in French voters, he said.

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Chinese EV makers face additional tariffs of up to 38 percent in the EU – Engadget

The European Union is going impose additional tariffs of up to 38 percent on Chinese-made electric vehicles in an effort to protect the region's manufacturers from unfair competition, according to The New York Times and the Financial Times. The European Commission has already warned Chinese carmakers about the additional taxes, which will go on top of the existing 10 percent tariff on their EVs and will be different for each manufacturer. BYD's and Geely's vehicles will be hit by tariffs between 17.4 and 20 percent, while SAIC will face an additional 38 percent in taxes.

Rates for other carmakers vary, depending on whether they've cooperated with an ongoing EU investigation into the Chinese government's subsidies for its EV manufacturers. Because of those subsidies, China-made EVs can be sold at much lower prices than their European competitors'. The Chinese carmakers that have cooperated with the probe will be subjected to an additional tariff of 21 percent, while those who didn't will get an extra 38 percent. The Financial Times says European Commission's Margaritis Schinas has reached out to Chinese authorities to "explore possible ways to resolve" the issue. The new tariffs will be enforced on July 4 if they fail to reach an agreement.

While the EU said that it's introducing additional taxes on Chinese EVs to protect the bloc's manufacturers, some authorities and European automakers oppose the move out of concern that it could lead to retaliation from China. They're specifically worried that China's response would make EVs more expensive in general, which in turn could drive away customers, especially those who are still not wholly convinced that they should switch to electric.

The EU's announcement comes a month after the US quadrupled the import tariff for Chinese EVs. It was part of a bigger move by the US government to quash China's influence on its economy, along with imposing additional taxes on Chinese-made semiconductors, solar cells, batteries and medical products.

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Chinese EV makers face additional tariffs of up to 38 percent in the EU - Engadget