June 05, 2026

Europe’s Looming Trade War with China, with Tobias Gehrke

By: Emily Kilcrease and Geoffrey Gertz

Emily and Geoff sit down with Tobias Gehrke to talk about why Europe is facing a looming trade war with China and how prepared (or not) it is to handle trade wars on multiple fronts. They also get Tobias’s take on how things are faring in the Transatlantic relationship, Europe’s pragmatic strategy for dealing with U.S. tariffs, and whether Europe can just wait out the Trump administration.

Tobias is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations where he focuses on European power. He covers geoeconomics, economic security, European economic strategy, and great power competition in the global economy.

Shownotes:

Tobias Gehrke, “Beijing hold’em: European cards against Chinese coercion,” European Council on Foreign Relations, March 31, 2026

Richard Bravo, Daniel Basterio, and Jenny Leonard, “Left with few choices, EU braces for a trade fight with China,” Bloomberg, June 3, 2026

U.S. Mission to the European Union, “Factsheet: The United States and European Union Reach a Massive Trade Deal,” July 28, 2025

European Commission, “EU-US Trade Deal Explained,” July 28, 2025

European Commission, “Strengthening Europe’s tech sovereignty,” June 3, 2026

Francesca Ghiretti, Geoeconomic Competition Podcast

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