EU to Strengthen Trade Defense Tools to Address Trade Imbalance with China

Central News Agency, Brussels, May 28. An official from the European Commission responsible for industrial policy stated that the EU will expand its trade defense tools to protect its economy and avoid the impact of trade imbalances with China. The Financial Times reported today that the European Commission will hold a special meeting tomorrow to discuss how the EU should respond to China to establish a level playing field. China's booming export trade has led to huge trade surpluses with several major European economies, putting political pressure on European leaders to take action to protect domestic industries. Stephane Sejourne, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of industrial policy, told the Financial Times that the EU will step up the implementation of import quotas and tariffs on China to protect specific industries such as chemicals, metals, and clean technology from unfair competition. Sejourne pointed out: 'Our goal is not to break with China, but to achieve a real rebalancing and to take concrete measures that will allow us to achieve this goal.'