Trade war reshapes firms
Firms and governments are changing strategies as tariffs, export controls and industrial policy collide between Washington and Beijing. The EU Chamber warned Brussels not to stay passive after European companies reported significant operational and financial damage, while the White House has been highlighting U.S. factories that say protectionism helped them. Carmaker Audi reported first‑quarter deliveries fell 6.1% overall — with China down 12% and North America down 27% — and cited U.S. import tariffs introduced in April 2025 among the causes. (scmp.com) (cbc.ca) (investing.com)
The United States-China trade fight is now changing where companies build, what governments subsidize, and how European firms protect supply chains. (scmp.com) On April 14, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said Brussels must not become a “passive recipient” of decisions made in Washington and Beijing. Chamber president Jens Eskelund said European companies were still taking “collateral damage” from export controls and other trade restrictions. (scmp.com) The chamber’s warning came as Beijing’s export controls spread from a narrow national-security tool into a broader business risk for foreign manufacturers in China. The group said companies now have to map dependencies that cannot be unwound quickly. (nytimes.com) Washington is making the opposite case. On April 13, the Office of the United States Trade Representative said Jamieson Greer toured plants in Michigan and Ohio and argued President Donald Trump’s tariff program was reshoring production lines, raising wages, and spurring investment. (ustr.gov) CBC reported Greer’s stops included Whirlpool’s plant in Clyde, Ohio, a drone company near Detroit, and a solar manufacturer near Toledo. The White House push is aimed at showing factories that say tariffs helped them compete against lower-cost Chinese imports. (cbc.ca) Company results show how uneven the fallout has become. Audi said on April 13 that first-quarter deliveries fell 6.1% to 360,106 vehicles, with China down 12% to 127,109 and North America down 27% to 35,464. (usnews.com) Audi said the North America drop reflected United States import tariffs introduced in April 2025 and regulatory changes, while the China decline reflected weaker demand, expiring subsidies, and model changes. Europe moved the other way, with deliveries up 5.9% to 123,724. (srnnews.com) That split is forcing companies into a three-way calculation. They have to decide whether to keep producing in China for China, move more production into the United States to avoid tariffs, or ask Europe to answer industrial policy with its own trade and subsidy tools. (scmp.com) The next test is whether Brussels acts on the chamber’s warning or keeps reacting after Washington and Beijing move first. For manufacturers selling into all three markets, trade policy is now shaping quarterly results as directly as consumer demand. (scmp.com)
