European Union

Banks in the euro region have about €1.3 trillion ($1.4 billion) in outstanding loans to commercial real estate investors and credit quality is “visibly deteriorating,” European Central Bank researchers found in a study of the links between CRE and the financial system, Bloomberg reported. “Exposures are not evenly spread across banks, and a tail of smaller, specialized banks with larger exposures” may “experience stress,” according to the report. The researchers pointed to a rise in non-performing loans as evidence of the worsening creditworthiness.

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The European Union’s decision to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles has moved the focus to how and when Beijing will retaliate for the escalation in its biggest trade dispute with the bloc in years, Bloomberg News reported. While talks continue, crucial clues may lie in the votes cast by individual EU member states on the EV measures last week. Beijing has previously threatened tariffs on EU brandy imports and launched investigations into pork and dairy products in response to the tariffs — offering a range of options that affect different parts of Europe.
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The European Union will move ahead with tariffs of up to 45% on electric vehicles made in China, defying pleas from some European auto executives who fear retaliation from Beijing and an escalating trade war, the Wall Street Journal reported. EU member states voted Friday to impose the new import fees that will apply for the next five years in a move aimed at protecting European carmakers amid rising competition from Chinese-made vehicles.
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Several European Union nations intend to challenge International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva about the Washington-based lender’s plan to engage with Russia on economic issues for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported. At a meeting of EU envoys Wednesday, France, Belgium and Poland, as well as several Baltic and Nordic nations, said they were surprised by the IMF’s decision earlier this month to restart annual economic reviews with Moscow.
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The European Commission on Tuesday proposed final duties of up to 36.3% on imported electric vehicles made in China, as part of the highest profile EU probe of alleged Chinese subsidies which has provoked threats of retaliation from Beijing, Reuters reported. It has also launched investigations into whether Chinese clean tech producers are dumping subsidised goods on EU markets and whether Chinese-owned companies unfairly benefit from subsidies while operating inside the European Union. The EU executive says its aim is to prevent unfair competition and market distortion.
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