Crypto News: Supply Lines: New EU trade tzar

The European Union's candidate to become its new trade chief is no strange figure in Brussels.

Maros Sefcovic is the longest serving commissioner of the EU executive's arm as he prepares to start his fourth five-year mandate.

Along this long path, the Slovak diplomat has become the proverbial good soldier, having dealt with some of the toughest tasks including reconducting post-Brexit relations with the UK, according to EU diplomats and officials.

Perhaps for that reason, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen decided to offer him arguably one of the most powerful posts in the commission when she unveiled her new team on Tuesday.

But the plum position could be seen as a poisoned chalice as the multilateral trading system on which the EU economy depends is eroding. The bloc is not only facing increasingly more difficulties to conclude trade deals given its high demands — it is also struggling to come up with a robust response to deal with growing protectionism in Washington and China's assertive economic policy.

Partly reflect this hardened environment, von der Leyen added economic security to Sefcovic's job description, reflecting the new lenses through which Europe sees relations with its partners.

The main task of the new chief will be to balance the diverse trade interests of EU member states while developing a strong stance toward the US, China, and the UK to enhance the EU's competitiveness.

Nominated by Slovakia, whose economy heavily relies on the automotive industry, the experienced European Commissioner faces a significant challenge.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico confirmed to Bloomberg last week that he supports the initiative by Germany and Spain, which are urging the European Commission to reconsider its plan to impose higher tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

"These tariffs would not only harm the Slovak economy but would also negatively impact trade cooperation between EU countries and China," Fico said.

Sefcovic has the experience needed to seek difficult compromises. His work on European strategic autonomy for batteries and critical raw materials, as well as his involvement in Brexit negotiations, has required him to work internally and understand the specific needs of individual countries.

—Jorge Valero in Brussels and Daniel Hornak in Bratislava

Click here for more of Bloomberg.com's most-read stories about trade, supply chains and shipping.

Tariff truthing | US politicians are overselling the effectiveness of tariffs on Chinese imports while underselling the costs to American businesses and households, writes Tom Orlik, the chief economist of Bloomberg Economics.

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See BNEF for BloombergNEF's analysis of clean energy, advanced transport, digital industry, innovative materials, and commodities.

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