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The EU is preparing to launch a trade war with China over the import of cheap electric cars and cheap solar and wind technology, Reuters reports, according to comments made by president of the European Commission Ursula von der after a meeting with the Chinese president Xi Jinping. “Europe will not waver from making tough decisions needed to protect its economy and security,” Leyen said in a statement, adding that the EU will work with G7 partners to fight “China’s market distortions.”
China is not convinced: China’s cheaper green technologies are necessary to further the energy transition, Xi Jinping’s Special Envoy for Climate Change Liu Zhenmin told Bloomberg on Thursday. Backlash from the US and EU results in a “delay in the substitution of fossil fuels by renewables globally,” Liu said, adding that energy transition costs would increase by up to USD 6 tn without China’s production. Liu urges countries to instead take advantage of China’s low cost products ahead of his upcoming meeting with American counterpart John Podesta.
Tensions have been brewing for a while between China and the West: Trade tensions have been sparked between China and the West over the oversupply of cheap solar panels and EVs from China, which has crowded American and European markets and threatened domestic production. The European Commission launched its investigation in September to consider imposing punitive tariffs on Chinese EV imports as a protection measure for local producers. The US and China seem to be “ on more stable footing,” however, since US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s diplomatic visit last month.
Panama Canal shipping traffic has started to pick up, recovering from the drought which scientists have attributed to El Nino rather than climate change, The Financial Times reported on Saturday. Ships arriving at the canal rose to 739 last month, from a low of 692 in February, the FT says, citing data from Marine Traffic. The canal’s water levels are expected to rise by as much as 2 meters in the upcoming May to December rainy season.
International shipping giant Maersk saw its net income fall 91% y-o-y to USD 208 mn in 1Q 2024, according to financial statements (pdf) released on Thursday. The carrier’s revenues also dropped 13% y-o-y to USD 12.4 bn during the same period. The fall in performance is broadly in line with expectations that European shipping giants Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd were unlikely to see significant boosts to their earnings in 1Q 2024, despite a surge in freight rates on the back of Red Sea disruptions.
Russia is shipping refined petroleum to North Korea at levels that exceed UN Security Council limits which could trigger a fresh raft of sanctions, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing comments by White House national security spokesperson John Kirby. The UN has capped North Korea’s annual imports of refined products to 500k barrels. Meanwhile Russia has shipped more than 165k barrels of refined petroleum to the country in March, Kirby said.
