KÖLN, May 7 -- European businesses in China are facing increased uncertainty as a result of US President Donald Trump’s threat to raise tariffs on Chinese imports. Business leaders and politicians called for a return to multilateralism to end trade tensions but some are worried that they will be excluded from any “horse-trading” that could end the dispute between the world’s two largest economies. “A further escalation of the trade dispute between the USA and China would increase uncertainty for German companies in China and are a risk for world trade as a whole,” said Simone Pohl, executive director of the German Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. European companies share many of Trump’s concerns about China, such as intellectual property protection and state industrial policy, but have often taken issue with the confrontational US approach and its impact on world markets. “We need fewer tariffs and trade barriers worldwide and more common rules for fair global trade. Companies need a functioning world trade system and have to regain certainty and trust,” Pohl said. Trump sent a shock through global markets on Monday after tweeting that he intended to raise tariffs on US$200 billion of goods from 10 per cent to 25 per cent on Friday. German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier told Reuters on Monday that he hoped both sides would refrain from unilateral action. “We all hope that the trade conflict between the US and China can be resolved because it doesn’t have any positive consequences for anyone,” Altmaier said. “We need a rules-based trade order, we need open markets, we need fairness and a level playing field i.e. equal rights for companies from all countries involved.”
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