Economy

EU coalition urges tougher trade measures against China

Monday 25 May 2026 - 10:04

By: Dakir Madiha

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France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Lithuania have jointly called for stronger European Union action against China’s trade practices, intensifying pressure on Brussels to adopt tougher tools to protect European industry. The coordinated stance adds momentum to a broader policy shift under discussion inside EU institutions aimed at rebalancing economic relations with Beijing.

The five countries argue that Chinese overcapacity, supported by state subsidies, is distorting global markets and harming European manufacturers. They point to heavy losses in sectors such as steel, electric vehicles and clean technologies, where Chinese exports have surged in recent years. European officials estimate that competitive pressure linked to these trends has contributed to significant industrial job losses across the bloc since 2019.

The EU’s trade imbalance with China has also widened sharply, with the deficit surpassing 360 billion euros over the past year. This gap has intensified internal debates over how far the bloc should go in deploying defensive instruments, including safeguard measures, anti-coercion tools and new mechanisms designed to counter structural overcapacity in key global industries.

The European Commission is preparing a more assertive trade framework and is expected to seek a stronger mandate from member states ahead of the June European Council summit. Options under consideration include rapid-response safeguards, a broader anti-overcapacity instrument similar in scope to US trade enforcement models, and procurement rules that would require European firms to diversify suppliers of critical components to reduce dependency on single-source imports.

Divisions remain within the bloc, particularly with Germany absent from the coalition despite its central role in European manufacturing and its deep trade ties with China. Analysts warn that internal disagreement could weaken the EU’s negotiating position at a time when industrial competition from China is reshaping global supply chains and testing the cohesion of Europe’s economic strategy.