Europe has a major problem in getting taken seriously, globally. In part this relies in its lack of self-marketing skills, which were pointed out by Uncle Sam’s top envoy to Brussels, when he essentially questioned why Europe doesn’t plant a beautiful blue-starred flag wherever its funding and support goes.
Image Credits: Philipp Katzenberger / Unsplash
Of course, this was back in 2015, and some of these shortcomings have been solved. Yet, a major headache for policy makers, economists and global affairs enthusiasts remains: The lack of an equitable narrative, and accuracy of available data.
This consequent blurry vision will unavoidably lead to out-of-focus policymaking.
Blurry visions
Europe’s role in global affairs is often overlooked, in favor of the clash at the helm, that between Washington and Beijing. This is the case when data is not given directly to analysts, as often the EU’s data must be calculated based on the member states’ data, but also when it is available in plain sight.
On July 17th the Economist published a briefing in which it brought under the spotlight President Biden’s China policy, compared to his predecessor’s, in regard to ‘pushing back’ on China’s trade expansionism.
In particular, it points to the current White House resident in chief’s continuity in policy substance, and discontinuity in flamboyance, a Mr. Trump trademark. Indeed, under the Biden administration we have seen the largest sanctioning of Chinese companies, and Foggy Bottom has been working hard to bring allies on board.
The editorial’s piece suggests China leads the way in free trade with third countries, claiming nearly two-thirds of the global pie. It sees its growth augmented by its first mover advantage in policy realms and to the coordinated front inherent to centralized political regimes.
Full Focus
However, when one looks at the map, the problem of overarching narratives often excluding the EU, thus never really giving an accurate snapshot of the global economic situation, is glaringly evident.
Experts were quick to jump the gun on Twitter, including Dr. Korteweg from the Netherlands based think tank Clingendael, and Lucian Cernat, one of the Berlaymont’s DG Trade heads.
Both point to the obvious fallacies of the article. Firstly, the Economist omits the EU, and includes only individual member state data. Secondly, when the data presented omits trade in services.
Nevertheless, a sharp, profound point is made in the Economist’s closing paragraphs: America needs to articulate a vision for a better world, and tailor its partners within the mix.
Masking Europe’s potential, and its effective and de facto weight in global economics, will only yield myopic perceptions.
