EDITORIAL
Of red lines and crossing them
 Sven Arnold (Photo: PIE) |
It’s currently being said of Europeans, and especially of Germans, that we knowingly and willingly entered into the dependency that has been making our lives difficult since Russia’s attack on Ukraine – with supply of Russian gas, the apparent wheeling and dealing over the Nordstream 2 pipeline, and overall too little caution concerning the relationship with our eastern neighbour.
Both politics and business don’t appear to have learned from the experience. Hardly have we taken away from one autocrat the means with which he sought to enforce his will than we rush into dependence on the next one. As long as cash is flowing freely, everything else is secondary.
Examples are Covestro and BASF, who are shifting even more production to China. Ineos, too, intent on getting its foot into the fracking door in the US, can be counted among such companies. After all, however close we may be to the US and however happy we may be about the protection it so altruistically provides, Americans are no angels either. Consider the war in Iraq and the control over the oil in the region, which was the actual trigger.
It's high time that we Europeans take our fate into our own hands and come to the fore as equal partners instead of tag-alongs, reasonably faithful allies, or some iteration thereof. Against the present background, it seems counterproductive to make ourselves even more dependent on the aspiring world power of China.
Instead, BASF boss Martin Brudermüller in particular should reflect on what he said last November in an interview with the FAZ: “There are red lines in China for us, too.” This is particularly relevant because the present approach is an significant departure from what applied just three months ago: “We produce in China primarily for the Chinese market. We have never built production sites there for raw materials that we have then brought to Europe or America [...].”
If the example of European plant closures by BASF and Dow sets a precedent, and if Germany and Europe lose their importance as industrial locations sooner rather than later, then we can scream and shout as much as we want over everything being so expensive here and the many regulations for chemicals. China and possibly even the US will end up in a position to tell us what will be done – and what not. And in the end, this lack of influence will leave an even more sour taste in our mouths.
Sven Arnold
Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Kunststoff Information
Both politics and business don’t appear to have learned from the experience. Hardly have we taken away from one autocrat the means with which he sought to enforce his will than we rush into dependence on the next one. As long as cash is flowing freely, everything else is secondary.
Examples are Covestro and BASF, who are shifting even more production to China. Ineos, too, intent on getting its foot into the fracking door in the US, can be counted among such companies. After all, however close we may be to the US and however happy we may be about the protection it so altruistically provides, Americans are no angels either. Consider the war in Iraq and the control over the oil in the region, which was the actual trigger.
It's high time that we Europeans take our fate into our own hands and come to the fore as equal partners instead of tag-alongs, reasonably faithful allies, or some iteration thereof. Against the present background, it seems counterproductive to make ourselves even more dependent on the aspiring world power of China.
Instead, BASF boss Martin Brudermüller in particular should reflect on what he said last November in an interview with the FAZ: “There are red lines in China for us, too.” This is particularly relevant because the present approach is an significant departure from what applied just three months ago: “We produce in China primarily for the Chinese market. We have never built production sites there for raw materials that we have then brought to Europe or America [...].”
If the example of European plant closures by BASF and Dow sets a precedent, and if Germany and Europe lose their importance as industrial locations sooner rather than later, then we can scream and shout as much as we want over everything being so expensive here and the many regulations for chemicals. China and possibly even the US will end up in a position to tell us what will be done – and what not. And in the end, this lack of influence will leave an even more sour taste in our mouths.
Sven Arnold
Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Kunststoff Information
01.03.2023 Plasteurope.com [252284-0]
Published on 01.03.2023