BNY’s Bob Savage highlights that China has criticized the European Union’s (EU) proposed Industrial Accelerator Act as discriminatory, warning of possible countermeasures that could affect trade and investor confidence. He also notes a sharp deterioration in Germany’s consumer climate, with GfK sentiment at its weakest since February 2023, as higher energy prices and Iran-related geopolitical tensions weigh on the Euro area outlook and EUR/USD.

Policy frictions and soft German data

“China’s commerce ministry has criticized the EU for its proposed Industrial Accelerator Act. It formally submitted comments on April 24 outlining strong concerns over what it views as discriminatory provisions against foreign investors.”

“It contends that these measures violate core World Trade Organization principles, including most favored nation and national treatment rules, and could undermine fair competition and investor confidence.”

“Germany’s consumer climate for May deteriorated sharply, with the GfK headline indicator falling to -33.3 from -28.1 in April. This marks a 5.2-point decline and the weakest reading since February 2023.”

“Economic expectations deteriorated further to -13.7, reflecting concerns that geopolitical tensions, particularly the Iran conflict, could derail Germany’s fragile recovery outlook.”

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