New Delhi, Feb. 23 -- A recent report by the Haut-Commissariat a la Strategie et au Plan that urged the EU to consider either steep tariffs on Chinese imports or a deliberate weakening of the euro against the renminbi has triggered reactions well beyond Paris and Brussels. What began as a domestic French strategic recommendation has evolved into a wider debate about Europe's economic direction and its role in an increasingly fragmented global trading system.

The proposal, suggesting tariffs of up to 30% or a 20-30% euro depreciation, reflects mounting anxiety over Europe's widening trade imbalance with China and its erosion of industrial competitiveness. But the strong international responses underline how consequential such steps would ...