Donald Trump’s return to the White House and the commercial war between the United States and China once again placed the Indian-Mudcio East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) at the Center for Care.
Signified in 2023 during a G20 summit in Nova Deli, the purpose of this logistics corridor is to facilitate the trade of goods, energy and data.
This new commercial route would connect to Europe with India through Israel and the Gulf monarchies, without going through the Suez channel.
“We need a corridor like this more than ever, because we not only have to deal with the problems we have with China, but we also have to deal with the fact that we are now in a regional competition between the United States, China and Europe,” says Mero -Penaris Merisa Morten Løkegaard (renew Europe) to Euronews.
“Production in India is much closer to Europe than in China”, which would reduce delivery deadlines, adds Niels Flemming Hansen, Danish Pepwed (PPE) and vice president of the European Parliament for India’s relations.
Several entrance points in Europe are on the table: Porto do Pireu, Greece, the port of Marseille, in France, and the port of Trieste, Italy.
“We must think of IMEC not as a line, but as a network, so that its resilience and ability to resist disturbances increase considerably if it is based on different entrance points,” says Alberto Rizzi, a political investigator of the European Council of Foreign Affairs (ECFR), and adds that “France seems to be ahead of other parts of Europe.”
China competition?
Not all participating countries have the same motivations, says the researcher. In addition to the best access to European and Gulf markets, India is looking for a way to escape China’s siege strategy.
The Gulf monarchies see the opportunity to position themselves at the center of the future trade of goods and energy, he adds.
For its part, the European Union is trying to reduce its dependence on China through a risk reduction strategy.
“It is also a way of approaching the European orbit not only the largest democracy in the world, but also the most populous country and the potential of a great commercial and industrial partner, India,” adds Alberto Rizzi.
Although the new spices route is seen as a means to compete with the project of the new silk routes initiated by Beijing, the researcher doubts his ability to rival the Chinese economic corridor.
“We should not see Imec as a competitor, because the new Silk route is a global Chinese initiative that essentially covers the entire world, while IMEC has a key regional dimension,” says the researcher.
“We should not see, especially in the case of Gulf countries, a commitment to Imec as a way to close the door to China,” he insists.
Although the project of the new spice route was blocked by the war in Gaza, it seems now to be exciting a new interest.
ADVERTISINGThe countries of the European Union and the Gulf are not the only ones to court the Asian giant. The United States is also on board, as proof of the recent trip of the American vice president JD Vance to India to negotiate a bilateral commercial agreement between Washington and Nova Delhi.
