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The European Union put forward a package of measures that took aim at the patchy data available around sustainable investing, seen as one of the fast-growing markets biggest problems.

The blocs executive arm in Brussels proposed making companies for the first time report standardized information about their impact on their environment, and social metrics, such as how they treat their employees.

The EU wants the rules to apply to both publicly-listed firms in Europe and large private companies, a total of nearly 50,000 entities. Credit institutions, including the large U.S. banks that have subsidiaries in the EU, would also have to comply. The bloc also unveiled its classification system that will define green investments, and said the taxonomy will apply from next year.

If passed, companies in the EU will have to start disclosing sustainability metrics, similarly to financial reporting. The taxonomy is expected to be used as a tool to cut down on greenwashing, a term that describes an exaggeration of sustainability claims. The initial version of the taxonomy labels bioenergy as green, but doesnt include nuclear energy and natural gas, although this may be revised.

Sustainability has emerged as a hot topic in finance. It is commonly known by the acronym ESG, which stands for environmental, social and governancethree pillars on which companies are judged.

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European Union Aims for Clarity in Murky World of Sustainable Investing - The Wall Street Journal

The European Union has committed to very significant emission cuts 55% on 1990 levels by 2030, and zero net emissions by 2050.

To help it get there without too much disruption, the president of the European Commission proposed a carbon tariff known as the carbon border adjustment mechanism, or CBAM.

The details will be tabled in the European Parliament later this year.

A carbon tariff is a tax on imports based on the carbon dioxide emissions involved in making them. Its purpose is to level the playing field with the domestic producers who will be made to pay a carbon price based on their emissions.

At the Victoria University Centre of Policy Studies we have modelled the effect on Australias economy.

Initially, we find it will reduce demand for Australian exports of coal, and steel and other emissions-intensive commodities, lowering both export prices and volumes.

But then a range of second round effects will kick in.

Lower export income will lower the Australian dollar, pushing up prices for Australian households, particularly the price of imports.

The lower dollar will also make exporters not directly affected by CBAM more attractive to customers overseas.

How big will these effects be?

We have used simulations from the Victoria University Regional Model to run the numbers taking into account emissions intensities, the importance of the EU as a destination for individual Australian exports and the extent to which Australian producers are able to divert each export from the EU to other markets.

Increase in price of exports to EU under carbon border adjustment mechanism

We find that some of the price effects are big (especially for coal) but, with a few exceptions, the EU isnt an important market for Australian exports.

The exceptions are steel, alumina and aluminium where the EU accounts for between 10% and 20% of Australias exports.

Our simulations suggest that for the most part that the projected impacts on the Australian economy are small.

The long-run projected loss in gross domestic product is 0.05%, which is equivalent to a fall in weekly income of less than $1 per person or about one weeks worth of normal growth.

At an industry level, most industries slightly increase production, the fall in EU demand being more than compensated for by the weaker exchange rate.

Following a temporary increase in unemployment, job losses in declining industries are offset by expansion in other industries.

Change in industry output under carbon border adjustment mechanism

The main loser is coal mining. The carbon border adjustment mechanism has the potential to increase the landed duty-paid price of Australian-produced coal in the EU by more than half, effectively excluding it from the EU market.

Overall, it is projected to cut Australian coal production by 3.8% relative to where it would have been with the loss of about 3,000 jobs.

The mechanism is projected to increase the buying price of iron and steel in the EU by almost 10%. While the EU is an important export market for Australian iron and steel, most of it is sold within Australia, meaning total production should fall by only 0.6%.

The decline in production should be relatively small, costing around 200 jobs.

Read more: The EU is considering carbon tariffs on Australian exports. Is that legal?

The job losses in mining and metal industries would be offset by the gains in the other industries which are able to take advantage of the lower exchange rate, including agriculture, some parts of manufacturing, tourism and education.

A temporary increase in unemployment as workers transition out of affected industries could be eased by training and other support for displaced workers.

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Australia's economy can withstand the proposed European Union carbon tariff here's what we find - The Conversation AU

Till a few months back, Chinas rise was taken as a given. It still is in many ways. China is a rising economic and political power and its pointless to talk about preventing that from happening. But how China rises can certainly be managed so that it causes least disruption in the global order.

The disorder ushered in by Covid-19 has underlined to the world the costs of giving China a free pass. And in response, the world has galvanised. Pushback against China has been manifesting itself in multiple ways. In particular, regional players have been pursuing more coordinated actions so as to create a more stable balance of power.

This pushback has also emerged in the context of the BRI, the signature vanity project of Chinese President Xi Jinping. This week saw the federal government of Australia using new powers to cancel two deals made between the state of Victoria and China related to the BRI. While Canberra argued that the move was essential to protect Australias national interest, Beijing made it clear that the action by Canberra was bound to bring further damage to bilateral relations, and will only end up hurting itself.

A new front has been added to an already strained Australia-China relationship ever since Australia demanded an investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic last year. At the other end of the spectrum, China was targeted in a different way when a bomb explosion at a luxury hotel in the Pakistani city of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, ended up killing five people and wounding several others.

Chinas ambassador who was visiting the region was ostensibly the target of this attack by the Pakistani Taliban, who claimed responsibility. Tensions have been rising in Balochistan, where China and Pakistani government are viewed as culprits for exploiting one of the countrys poorest regions for its natural resources.

The BRI is facing challenges at a time when the Indo-Pacific narrative is getting well-established across the world. The EU released its Indo-Pacific strategy which aims for regional stability, security, prosperity, and sustainable development at a time of great regional flux and turmoil.

Arguing that its approach and engagement will look to foster a rules-based international order, a level playing field as well as an open and fair environment for trade and investment, reciprocity, the strengthening of resilience and tackling climate change, the EU strategy calls upon the 27 nation grouping to work together with its partners in the Indo-Pacific on these issues of common interest.

After ignoring the Indo-Pacific construct for years, the EU seems to have finally realised the need to imbibe it within its own strategic framework as it seeks a new global role for itself as a geopolitical actor. Individual member states such as France, Germany and even the Netherlands have already taken the plunge and so the EU had to respond to the evolving geopolitical realities.

From Europe and the US all the way to the Asean and Oceania, Indo-Pacific is the new geostrategic reality which cannot be ignored. China employed its entire might in trying to discredit the narrative, and yet it has turned out to be one of most significant diplomatic failures of Beijing that it could not prevent the ideational rise and operational establishment of the new maritime geography.

Today, China is left with only Russian support on this issue while much of the rest of the world has moved on. And Indias role has been central in making the idea of Indo-Pacific a reality. Much as New Delhis reservations on BRI are now the standard template for responding to the project around the world, without New Delhis persistence and active engagement in shoring up the viability of the Indo-Pacific, the idea would have found it difficult to move beyond academic discourse.

And this effort continues with the external affairs minister S Jaishankar recently again underlining that the Indo-Pacific refers to a seamless world which was historically present in the form of Indian-Arab economic-trading ties and cultural influences from Asean nations like Vietnam and the east coast of China. In this context, the Indo-Pacific is a return to history and is actually the overcoming of the Cold War and not reinforcing it.

The more China has pushed its belligerent agenda on regional states, the more pushback it has begun to face. The BRI is confronted with multiple fault lines; the Indo-Pacific geography is now more well-established than ever; the Quad has been resurrected; and various regional players are beginning to engage with each other much more cohesively.

Power is as much about a nations innate capabilities as it is about its ability to make others accept its leadership. China has certainly risen in the last decade but it has not succeeded in making others accept its claim for even regional forget global leadership.

And Indias ability to stand steadfast vis--vis China across multiple fronts has given other nations greater confidence in their ability to shape Chinese behaviour. It may or may not work in the end in rationalising Chinas role. But it will certainly force the Chinese Communist Party to rethink some of the assumptions underlying their policy preferences.

Views expressed above are the author's own.

END OF ARTICLE

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The pushback against China: Now, the European Union has released its own Indo-Pacific strategy too - The Times of India Blog

European Union leaders will hold a face-to-face summit in Brussels on May 25 to discuss the coronavirus crisis, the battle against climate change and tensions with Russia, a spokesman said.

Several recent EU gatherings have been held by videoconference as a Covid-19 safety measure, but a spokesman for European Council president Charles Michel said next months summit would be in person.

Officials have expressed frustration that decision-making is slowed at video summits, where leaders can not meet in smaller huddles on the sidelines and there are privacy concerns.

Next months summit was called just as European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced that, after a slow start, the blocs coronavirus vaccine programme is getting up to speed.

Brussels now expects to have secured enough vaccine doses to immunise 70% of the adult population by the end of July, and is now negotiating contracts for second generation jabs to guard against future variants.

The leaders will also address climate change after agreement between the Commission, MEPs and national leaders on binding legislation or emissions cutting targets.

Relations with Moscow are also on the agenda after a Russian troop build-up in occupied Crimea and on Ukraines borders sparked concern and a report that Russian agents triggered a 2014 explosion in a Czech arsenal which fuelled tensions with Prague.

The Czech Republic has expelled several Russian diplomats in response and some fellow EU members have followed suit in solidarity but the response has not been coordinated across the bloc.

Separately, Michel and the White House announced that US President Joe Biden would meet Brussels top officials at a summit in June during his first European tour since his election.

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European Union calls May 25 summit on virus, climate and Russia - The Hindu

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The Harley Davidson corporate office at 3700 W. Juneau Ave. in Milwaukee on Thursday, July 9, 2020. Harley-Davidson Inc. says it is eliminating 700 jobs this year as part of its comprehensive effort to rebuild the company. Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Photo: Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Harley-Davidson Inc. has been slapped with a 56% European Union tariff on all its motorcycles, the company said Monday, effectively blocking it from the EU market.

Harley said it would appeal the ruling scheduled to go into effect in June.

"This is an unprecedented situation and underscores the very real harm of an escalating trade war to our stakeholders on both sides of the Atlantic. The potential impact of this decision on our manufacturing operations and overall ability to compete in Europe is significant," Jochen Zeitz, Harley chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement.

Europe is Harley's second largest market after the United States.

"Imposing an import tariff on all Harley-Davidson motorcycles goes against all notions of free trade and, if implemented, these increased tariffs will pose a targeted competitive disadvantage for our products, against those of our European competitors," Zeitz added.

In 2018, the European Union placed a 25% incremental tariff (31% total tariff) on motorcycles imported into the EU from the United States.

Under the latest proposal, the EU would placea 50% incremental tariff on U.S. motorcycles for a total tariff of 56%. The ruling would even apply to Harleys manufactured in Thailand, where the company had set up operations to get around the 2018 EU tariff.

Monday, Harley posted a quarterly profit of $259 million, or $1.68 a share,up from $70 million, or 45 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

Revenue rose to $1.4 billion from $1.3 billion a year earlier.

"The actions we have taken to reshape the business are having a positive impact on our results, especially for our most important North American region," Zeitz said.

Harley-Davidson shares closed Monday up $3.91 a share, or nearly 10%, on Monday to $44.29.

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Harley-Davidson hit with 56% EU tariff, an 'unprecedented situation' that will block the motorcycle maker from the market, CEO says - Milwaukee...