The eroding of Germany as a manufacturing powerhouse is scary for the future of Europe. If it happens peacefully, well, where will the money come from to sustain these states? If it doesn't happen peacefully, what does a militaristic and potentially destabilized Germany look like?

The Wall Street Journal published an article[1] a while back outlining some similarly scary anecdotes:

  For the first time in decades, Germany now imports more advanced capital goods from China than it exports there. Manufacturers are suddenly on the defensive, not just in China and elsewhere, but also at home. Many Mittelstand firms are idling workers, cutting jobs or shifting production, including to China.

  German industry is losing more than 10,000 jobs every month, according to a May report by EY. Industrial output declined by around 10% between February 2022 and early 2026, with energy-intensive sectors plunging by more than 15%.

  Germany’s trade balance with China in capital goods slid from a surplus of roughly 750 million euros to a €500 million deficit between mid-2024 and August 2025 on a 12-month rolling average, according to New York-based Apollo Global Management. Germany’s machine-tools exports to China slumped by around one-third in the first quarter from a year earlier.

Europeans were very quick to talk about how America was a danger and China is not, how the tariff regime was a bad idea, and lots of other snide and silly remarks. Now what?

  European leaders are seeking new legal powers [2] to hit back at China. China’s overall goods exports to Germany alone have jumped 17% this year through May compared with the year prior, and those to the European Union have increased 16%, according to dollar-denominated data from Chinese customs.

One of us! One of us! Good job Europe on following Trump's lead.

From the second article: To take on China, the European Commission is seeking more power to hit entire industries with trade measures, people familiar with the matter said. It is also pressing European Union national leaders to use the bloc’s existing trade-defense instruments.

  Officials are considering new legal powers that would allow firm pushback against China if an economic sector is suddenly flooded by cheap imports. Any new tool needs to be easily triggered, avoiding the lengthy arguments among capitals that have hemmed in European action in the past.

Aren't cheap goods all that matters? China makes cheaper and better EVs. Why should tariffs stop a German or Frenchman from buying the best product on the market? Doesn't Europe support free trade?

Ok now that I've got the gloating out of the way (I've brought up the natural European response many times over the last 2 years only to see myself continue to be proven correct) - it's good that Europe is realizing the danger that China's economic policy is putting the continent in. Ultimately you cannot have trade that is unbalanced, and you can't de-industrialize because the other adversarial powers (China and Russia) will not, though Russia is being forced to in a way because of the Ukraine war, and so you'll basically be left at the military mercy of these two powers without protectionist policy. Americans have been talking about this for years, Trump began implementing policies, Biden continued them, and now we're seeing more work to improve the situation.

[1] https://www.wsj.com/economy/china-is-devastating-the-last-st...

[2] https://www.wsj.com/economy/trade/chinese-export-flood-tests...