At G7, Biden will push to use Russian assets for Ukraine

For two years, Western allies have debated how to deal with $300 billion in frozen Russian assets. The G7 leaders, who will meet beginning today in Italy, seem to be on the brink of announcing a compromise.

European leaders feared that seizing the assets would violate international law. So the Biden administration devised a plan to use the interest generated by them to back a loan that could be delivered immediately to Ukraine.

The loan could be as large as $50 billion and would be repaid over time with the profits being generated from Russia’s money, Western officials said.

The leaders are also expected to discuss the question of how to stop China from bolstering Russia by selling it “dual use” microelectronics and other gear to rebuild its military. The Biden administration announced yesterday that it would add sanctions aimed at stopping China from helping the Kremlin in its invasion of Ukraine.

In related news, Ukraine plans to auction about 20 state-owned companies to fund its war effort and help its economy.

E.U. placed more tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles

The E.U. said yesterday that it would impose additional tariffs of up to 38 percent on electric vehicles imported from China. Leaders called the measure an effort to protect manufacturers from unfair competition. The move comes a month after the U.S. quadrupled its tariffs on Chinese E.V.s to 100 percent.

“By making it more expensive for consumers to buy lower-cost Chinese imports, the tariffs could slow adoption of electric vehicles in Europe — and also slow progress on emissions reduction,” said my colleague Jim Tankersley, who writes about U.S. economic policy.

“But they could also help guard against job losses for European automakers,” he added. “That protection could help to maintain political support for green initiatives at a time when Europe’s decarbonization efforts are increasingly drawing backlash from voters who are upset with rapid price increases in recent years.”

Here’s what this means for consumers and what could happen next.

How migration is shaping Western politics

The recent European Parliament elections are the latest sign of immigration’s power to shape the West, David Leonhardt writes. ​Right-wing parties that had promised to reduce the flow of migration made gains, and center-right parties finished first by adopting a more restrictive stance.

The modern migration boom in the West has had major advantages, but it has also had downsides. More competition can hurt workers, governments strain to provide social services and some people can feel uncomfortable with societal changes. Historically, major immigration spikes have led to political backlashes, like Brexit.

For years, mainstream Western politicians dismissed voters’ concerns about immigration as inherently ignorant or xenophobic, and many of those disaffected voters came to support parties on the extreme right. But recently, there are signs that the political left and center have returned to a more nuanced approach that celebrates immigrants while emphasizing border security.