The EU should more assertively defend itself against major global competitors, a group of countries led by France has said in a policy paper … just days before a major strategy debate on China inside the European Commission.

As part of efforts to offer Europe’s industry – battered by the pandemic and multiple energy crisis – better means to compete with China’s state-backed firms, the call for a much more robust EU trade policy comes from France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Lithuania.

The rules-based trading system is “being undermined by a variety of actors and the rise of unfair trade practices,” the group agrees.

In response, Europe “should explore the opportunity to develop a broader, cross-sector trade defence tool”, the paper argues. By citing national security concerns linked to, say, China’s chokehold on a given rare earth, the bloc “could implement measures such as additional duties or TRQs, in order to protect European producers”.

TRQs, better known as quotas, have long been a favoured trade instrument in Paris.

On Friday, 29 May, the European Commission’s top brass will hold a debate on the bloc’s long-term strategy for dealing with China. In 2025, the EU’s trade deficit with China hit €360 billion, up a fifth from the year prior.

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