Why Europe’s tariff plans on China won’t solve its trade problem

[BRUSSELS] China looms large in trade-policy discussions everywhere, but the precise concerns vary.

Whereas the US has long regarded China as a destroyer of American industry and a geopolitical rival whose rise must be contained, Europe has been more concerned about the national-security implications of Chinese dominance in a few strategic sectors, such as rare-earth minerals.

Recently, however, European policymakers have begun sounding more like their American counterparts, arguing that surging Chinese imports threaten domestic industry.