Donald Trump's return to the White House and the Trade War between the United States and China presented the East-Europe Economic corridor (IMEC) to India under the spotlight.
This logistics corridor project, which was officially launched in 2023 at a G20 summit in Delhi, aims to facilitate the trade in goods, energy and data.
This new trade route would bypass the Suez Canal and link Europe to India via Israel and the Gulf monarchies.
“We need a corridor like this more than ever, because not only do we face the problems we have with China, but we also have to face the fact that we are now in regional competition between the United States, China and Europe,” said Euronews, the Morten Løkkegaard deputy (Renew Europe / Denmark).
“Production in India is much closer to Europe than in China”, which would reduce delivery times, adds the deputy deputy Niels Flemming Hansen (EPP / Denmark) and the vice-president of the European Parliament delegation for relations with relations with India.
Several entry points into Europe are on the table: Piraeus ports in Greece, Marseille in France and Trieste in Italy.
“We must consider the IMEC not as a line but as a network, so that its own resilience and its ability to resist disturbances are considerably increased if it was based on different entry points,” explains Alberto Rizzi, a policy researcher at the European Council on foreign relations (ECFR).
“France seems to be ahead of the other European parties,” added Rizzi.
Competition from China?
According to Rizzi, not all participating countries have the same motivations. In addition to better access to European markets and the Gulf, India is looking for a means of escaping the Board of China bypass.
The Gulf monarchies see an opportunity to position themselves at the Center for Future Trade in Goods and Energy.
For its part, the European Union seeks to reduce its dependence on China thanks to a deactivation strategy.
“It is also a way of bringing not only the greatest democracy in the world, but also the most populous country and the potential of a huge trading and industrial partner, India, always closer to European orbit,” said Rizzi.
While the new spice road is considered a way to compete with the new Roads Silk project launched by Beijing, the researcher doubts his ability to compete with the Chinese economic corridor.
“We must not see the IMEC as a competitor because the new silk road is a global initiative of China which essentially encompasses the whole world, while the IMEC has a key regional dimension,” said Rizzi.
“We must not see, in particular in the case of the Gulf countries, a commitment to the IMEC as a means of closing the door of China.”
ADVERTISEMENTAlthough the War of Israel-Hamas in Gaza has slowed down the new Spice Route project, it now seems to benefit from a renewed interest.
The European Union and the Gulf States are not the only ones to court the Asian giant. The United States is also on board, as evidenced by the recent trip of the American vice-president JD Vance to India to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement between Washington and New Delhi.
