The European Commission intends to present new measures on Friday aimed at initiating a shift in the EU’s trade policy toward China.
Stating that the goal is not to break ties with China but rather to achieve a “genuine rebalancing” of the relationship, EU Industry Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné told outlets including the Handelsblatt, Financial Times, and Le Monde (Friday editions). The French Commissioner argued that Europe needs a “European third way” that compels China, in some manner, to enter into serious negotiations. Séjourné noted that “Europe essentially has no choice” and warned that if Brussels fails to protect its industry, the bloc risks fracturing back into individual national interests.
Séjourné outlined four primary measures designed to strengthen the EU’s defenses against Chinese overcapacity. First, companies in strategic sectors will be required to diversify their supply chains more extensively. Séjourné cited an example requiring that no more than 60 percent of supplies originate from a single country.
Secondly, existing trade protection instruments will be applied more rapidly and broadly. Thirdly, the Commission plans to introduce a new, sector-wide protection mechanism. This would allow the EU to protect entire industries with countervailing duties, rather than limiting investigations to single products or companies. Finally, Séjourné intends to tighten the EU regulation against foreign subsidies. If a Chinese provider is disqualified from a public tender due to inadmissible subsidies, they would henceforth be blacklisted from other tenders in the same sector. As an illustration, Séjourné mentioned the Chinese manufacturer BYD, whose electric buses are currently bidding for public contracts in several European cities.
This policy shift comes amid mounting pressure from several large Member States. In one document, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands called for sector-wide tariffs on Chinese imports, an initiative that has also been endorsed by the German government.
