Chippla Vandu asks: what does the European Union want from China? The Nigerian-born libertarian blogger, who lives in Holland, writes: "If trade is meant to be free, then let it be. True, every country or bloc or region should have the right to set import quotas as well as specific tariffs on imported goods. But, for how long are we going to keep deceiving ourselves? Import quotas, tariffs and subsidies on common goods only work for a while. Eventually, they fail. With trade becoming truly global, more and more goods and services will be purchased from where they are available at the cheapest rates, provided of course they meet minimum specified standards. It's time the European Union woke up to a new reality – China has become the factory of the world. Import quotas and high tariffs may help keep Chinese goods off European shores for a while (and keep European companies alive and competitive) but Europe will never be able to compete with the Chinese on the global market in the long run, except wages were lowered and working hours increased. This may sound sadistic and cruel, but it is the plain truth. Of course, there's always the alternative of doing away with global free trade, but with the world economy so intermingled among the various countries, this seems like a very remote possibility."
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