Symbolic imageEU leaders to demand new China trade tools after hybrid-car cap
EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday will tell the Commission to urgently develop new tools against trade imbalances with China. Germany reportedly wants caps on more Chinese imports.
According to the South China Morning Post, the 27 leaders will instruct Brussels to devise new instruments even after the deal of Friday, 9 October, which caps Chinese hybrid imports at 350,000 a year. A senior diplomat called it "one swallow does not make a summer", but the start of a process to get China to moderate its exports. Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Emmanuel Macron warned in a letter of a "massive industrial shock" without naming China, and propose using single-market access as leverage. FAZ reports that the Commission is weighing a "Buy Europe" rule for public contracts.
Economists split on the threat
Kiel Institute economists around Moritz Schularick urge a US Section 232-style tool that ties market access to production in Europe, citing batteries for defence. Simon Evenett of IMD Business School says there is no massive industrial shock, because China's export growth is concentrated in a few goods such as electric vehicles.
UK rules out car tariffs
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in India that trade defence decisions rest on UK interest, not on requests from others. He added that the UK has no major Chinese carmaker and so is no back door to the EU market, a stance that complicates the UK-EU summit planned for 20 November.
Other opinions
Chinese state-affiliated Global Times headlines frame the deal as a consensus and welcome more dialogue, while Reuters reports Beijing says it is willing to work with the EU on stable trade ties.