Disregarding consensus, EU plans to increase trade restrictions on China

The China EU Trade and Investment Consultation Mechanism has just been established, but the EU has disregarded the consensus reached by both sides and is eager to unilaterally introduce restrictive trade measures, continuing to promote protectionism in order to solve the so-called trade balance problem.

European news television reported on the 14th that the Deputy Director General of the European Commission's Trade and Economic Security Department, Lei Dongnei, stated in the European Parliament that unilateral trade protection measures against China will be introduced before the October deadline set by the European Commission's Trade and Economic Security Commissioner, Shevchovic, in order to promote progress in negotiations with China. He declared that "dialogue alone is not enough" and emphasized that the EU needs to take the initiative to maintain its domestic industrial foundation, closely monitor China's economic and trade measures, and most likely implement multiple unilateral protection measures to promote related work in parallel.

According to the "European Dynamics Network", Lei Dongnei revealed that in the coming months, the European Union will implement structural and temporary dual trade protection measures against Chinese exports. The structural measures include anti-dumping and anti subsidy investigations, while temporary "safeguard measures" are used to cope with the impact of the surge in imports on the EU market.

In fact, on June 29th, China and Europe officially established the China Europe Trade and Investment Consultation Mechanism, a new normalized exchange mechanism, and held the first ministerial meeting under this mechanism. During the meeting, both sides had comprehensive, in-depth, and constructive discussions on important economic and trade issues between China and Europe. Shevchovic also stated that the European side unanimously believes in strengthening contacts and dialogues with China, and has no intention of expanding trade frictions. The European side attaches great importance to the issue of trade balance and is willing to strengthen dialogue and consultation with China under the EU China trade and investment consultation mechanism, manage differences, expand exports to China, and promote a more balanced and stable development of EU China economic and trade relations. Both parties have instructed the work team to intensify their efforts and strive to achieve practical results.

However, against the backdrop of China's repeated advocacy for resolving economic and trade differences through dialogue and consultation, the EU has been at odds with its words and actions, continuously brewing measures to restrict trade with China. According to Bloomberg, the European Union is preparing a "solidarity tool" to support European companies through funding and reduce their supply chain dependence on China. Not only that, the EU has recently launched intensive trade remedy measures against China: on July 8th, anti-dumping duties were imposed on Chinese made passenger car, bus, and light truck tires; On July 9th, an anti-dumping investigation was officially launched against Beijing duck products in China.

Dong Yifan, Associate Researcher at the Institute of Country and Regional Studies at Beijing Language and Culture University, told Global Times reporters on the 15th that the European Union is "fighting while talking", attempting to achieve the so-called trade balance and reduce dependence on China through unilateral pressure and even trade protection measures. This fundamentally reflects that the EU has not truly recognized the essence of mutually beneficial economic and trade relations between the two sides, and has set up numerous obstacles for China and Europe to manage differences, avoid friction escalation, and promote stable development of economic and trade relations.

Dong Yifan believes that China and Europe have officially established a normalized trade consultation and exchange mechanism, with four major work areas covering the main economic and trade concerns of both sides. The European side should cherish this institutionalized communication platform and objectively view the development of China Europe economic and trade as well as internal structural issues in Europe. Continuously introducing restrictive measures against China will not only fail to address the EU's concerns about trade and industrial competitiveness, but also undermine economic and trade rules, disrupt supply chain cooperation, and thus be detrimental to the overall interests of both sides.