Finland’s policy proposal: EU-US alliance with an anti-China focus

Brussels –Finland is trying to reorganize EU policy by suggesting to partners on both sides of the Atlantic how to move forward with less China on the EU agenda and more United States. It proposes a Euro-American trade deal and tariffs against Beijing, all with consideration for international alliances, particularly military ones. Elina Valtonen, Finland’s foreign minister, is keen to remind how the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has widened, with the participation of North Korea, Iran, and “even China” on Moscow’s side.

“If China is significantly undermining Europe’s security and security architecture, we cannot continue with normal relations,” the minister sounded out as she arrived in Brussels for the work of the Foreign Affairs Council: “We cannot continue with ‘business as usual’ with China regarding our trade.”

Hence, Valtonen’s call, which “also applies to Europe” and not just the United States, to weave new trans-Atlantic relations. For historical and contingent reasons, “the relationship between the EU and the US is more important than ever, and in that sense, since we are such close allies and share the same values, we cannot impose tariffs on each other.”

Valtonen’s emphasis once again confirms EU fears for a trade war that Donald Trump’s return to the White House could trigger, given the much more determined nature of the president-elect to protect and defend US interests and the economy. At the same time, the Finnish minister’s remarks offer an example of realpolitik: given that Washington sees the People’s Republic as its main economic competitor, an alliance in an anti-Chinese sense could help both sides. After all, the definitive imposition of EU duties on Chinese electric cars has already opened a trade war, and adding another one for Europe would become complicated.