Reference Message Network reported on April 2 that the German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung website published an article titled "De-risking", This Time Targeting the United States" on March 31. The author is Julia Lohr. The following are excerpts from the article:

The term "de-risking" is being used more and more frequently in Berlin and Brussels. That means the lower the trust in a country, the less dependent one should be on it. "De-risking" has been an openly declared goal of the European Commission and the German Federal Government for years. Now, the political desire for "de-risking" may target the United States. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on March 31 to France's public radio that given Trump's policies, Europeans should embark on a "journey toward independence." Lagarde mentioned defense, energy, economy, and digital policy.

Monika Schmitz, chairwoman of the German Council of Economic Experts, also holds similar views. She said: "Given Trump's outspoken threats to terminate the transatlantic alliance, we urgently need to reduce our dependence on the U.S., especially in technology. The first step must be to complete the formation of the Digital Single Market and the Capital Markets Union. We should also expand trade relations with all countries currently affected by Trump's measures."

Moritz Schularik, director of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, said: "After Trump took office, the task of 'de-risking' became more difficult both economically and in terms of security policy."

Now some people remember that in 2019, Adobe Systems Inc. announced it would block accounts of all Venezuelan users according to Trump's order. But it never happened. However, cloud service providers in Europe are currently receiving increasing requests from companies that no longer want to store their data with American suppliers.

In any case, the effectiveness of "de-risking" with China is limited. As Jurgen Matthes, an expert at the German Institute for Economic Research, said, there has not been much "de-risking" with China in fact. He said that some large companies continue to "go all out", and the argument often heard is: "Anyone who wants to survive globally must enter China".

Now, both Brussels and Berlin are focusing on new free trade agreements. It may not be realistic for Trump to reach an agreement with the EU as the Christian Social Union (CSU)/Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) required in their coalition negotiation to lower tariffs. Instead, attention should be paid to the free trade agreement already negotiated but not yet approved between the EU and Mercosur member states, as well as the negotiations with India - both sides are currently pushing forward this negotiation.

Berena Hubertz, a member of the SPD, participated in the negotiation of the economic policy chapter of the possible coalition agreement. She suggested implementing a diversification strategy. She said: "In a world full of retaliatory tariffs and increasing risks, we must work harder than ever before to establish new trade partnerships quickly."

(Translated/Nie Lizhao)

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7488607179261592118/

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