The Long Council
Who was selected, and why
How can the EU protect its economy from heavily subsidized Chinese imports?
The central tension
Free trade efficiency versus industrial sovereignty — whether the EU should accept Chinese subsidized imports for consumer benefit or protect domestic industry through strategic trade policy.
The two poles
Free Trade
Milton FriedmanStrategic Protection
Mahathir Mohamad
Raúl Prebisch
Helmut SchmidtSelected members
Milton Friedman
Will argue: Chinese subsidies benefit European consumers; EU protection would impose costs on its own citizens to protect inefficient industries
The strongest intellectual voice for free trade and against protectionist responses to subsidies · His systematic opposition to trade barriers in Capitalism and Freedom and Free to Choose; his argument that subsidies from foreign countries are gifts to domestic consumers
Mahathir Mohamad
Will argue: The EU has every right to protect its strategic industries from predatory Chinese practices; economic sovereignty requires defensive measures
Experienced practitioner of protecting domestic industry from unfair international competition during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis · His capital controls and industrial policy during Malaysia's confrontation with international financial institutions; his "Look East Policy" of strategic economic nationalism
Raúl Prebisch
Will argue: Chinese subsidies create artificial comparative advantage that undermines EU industrial development; free trade between structurally unequal partners produces divergence
Theorist of how asymmetric trade relationships disadvantage the importing economy structurally · His analysis of deteriorating terms of trade and structural bias in international economic relationships; his advocacy for infant industry protection
Helmut Schmidt
Will argue: Industrial dependence on China creates the same sovereignty vulnerabilities as energy dependence; the EU must diversify its supply chains and protect strategic capabilities
Governed during energy crises and understood economic dependency as a sovereignty question · His response to the 1973 oil crisis; his documented position that "energy dependence is not an energy question but a question of sovereignty"
Considered but not selected
Lee Kuan Yew: — His framework is for a small trading state, not a large economic bloc like the EU; his experience is making Singapore indispensable rather than protecting domestic industry
Hayek: — Would largely echo Friedman's free trade position without adding distinct analytical value
Deng Xiaoping: — His state capitalism model is part of the problem being analyzed, not a solution framework for the EU