PREVIEW-Pressured at Home, EU Leaders Weigh China Trade Steps
Leaders are weighing a preliminary deal on hybrid car imports against tougher steps as the EU goods trade deficit with China reached €360 billion last year.
- European leaders gather in Brussels on Thursday to weigh future trading ties with China, whose surging exports of cars and manufactured goods threaten local industry and cause mass layoffs across Europe.
- The €360 billion goods deficit with China reached what European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called "unsustainable," prompting the EU to pledge using every possible means to reduce the imbalance.
- A recent Franco-German paper urged immediate measures addressing chemicals and plastic imports, while European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic met China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Beijing on October 9 to discuss tariff reductions.
- Political instability complicates negotiations, as French President Emmanuel Macron faces student protests and budget deadlock, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz struggles with coalition instability following regional election defeats.
- The Commission plans to propose initial trade measures in December, with ministerial consultations scheduled for January 2027 and March 2027 to address supply chain reliance and trade rebalancing.
11 Articles
11 Articles
The EU is trying to find a way forward in its increasingly strained relationship with China. Chinese exports are putting pressure on European companies and raising demands for stronger measures. At the same time, Europe's industry is dependent on Chinese supplies of key raw materials.
European government leaders will discuss a tougher stance against China in Brussels on Thursday and Friday. In the past, most member states themselves opened their doors wide to Beijing, but are now backtracking. "The customer is always right. And as a customer, we have made it clear to China that we are suffering."
Facing the dual pressures of a massive influx of inexpensive Chinese goods and a domestic political and economic crisis, EU leaders will gather in Brussels on Thursday (October 15) for a summit to reassess the future direction of EU-China bilateral trade relations. In this crucial game of comprehensively reshaping the EU's China strategy, Germany, as Europe's largest economy, is breaking with its past cautious approach and taking the lead in pus…
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