Promises have already been made by the European Commission to present further measures in the autumn of 2026 to protect Europe's industry from what is considered unfair competition.
The reason is primarily China, whose trade surplus with the EU is growing larger and faster. And also with the rest of the world.
"China currently accounts for 30 percent of global production but only 13 percent of consumption. It is an imbalance that the world simply cannot swallow," Sabine Weyand, the outgoing head of the Commission's trade directorate, said in an appearance before an EU Parliament committee in early May.
Radiation therapy?
The only question is how the EU will act. The way forward was laid out during a major meeting of the Commission on Friday.
"The current trade and investment relationship is not sustainable," it said in a statement afterward.
The issue will now be discussed with the heads of state and government of the member states at the summit in Brussels in midsummer.
Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas has already attracted attention when she recently said during a
that the EU can either use "morphine" or "radiation therapy" - either to ease the pain at home through more support for industry or to take tougher measures against Chinese direct investment and procurement.It will be painful... because there will be countermeasures, Kallas warned.
Protectionism?
Heavy industrial countries such as France and Italy want to see tougher measures and are calling in a joint document with the Netherlands, Spain and Lithuania for "additional tariffs or quotas," reports the news site Euractiv .
Sweden, in turn, warns against overly protectionist responses.
"I notice that quite a few European countries, unfortunately, risk using the China issue to push for general protectionist barriers," said Trade Minister Benjamin Dousa (M) in Brussels last week.
Germany's opinion could be decisive. While both government and industry have long wanted to avoid clashing with China, there are now signs that competition concerns and layoffs could force a change.
"This is an unsustainable situation," Engin Eroglu, a German liberal and chairman of the EU Parliament's China delegation, told the news site Politico Europe.
China has the world's second-largest GDP (US$20,852 billion) and also has the second-largest population (1.4 billion inhabitants).
However, the EU as a whole has a slightly larger GDP (US$23,034 billion) despite having only the third-largest population (450 million inhabitants).
In terms of trade, China has a gigantic and growing surplus with the EU in goods (US$360 billion in 2025) while the EU has a smaller and decreasing surplus in services (US$21 billion in 2025).
Sources: International Monetary Fund, European Commission
