EU signals emergency import curbs after dramatic growth in Chinese trade gap
The European Union is considering emergency tariffs and quotas on Chinese imports following a significant increase in the trade deficit. EU trade officials are pressuring Beijing to rebalance its economic model and allow for a freer currency float.
Why it matters
Rising trade tensions between the EU and China could lead to a global trade war, impacting international supply chains and economic stability.
The European Union is prepared to introduce emergency measures to combat China’s extraordinary export surge as new figures showed the trade gap had widened dramatically, its top trade enforcer said on Tuesday.
Safeguard measures that permit tariffs and quotas to be enforced to combat sudden import surges may “become legitimate on a case-by-case basis”, Denis Redonnet told the European Parliament’s trade committee.
Redonnet, the EU’s deputy director general for trade, added that the bloc had little expectation that Beijing would make structural changes to its economic model.
Brussels and Beijing are trying to defuse trade tensions, but the EU has warned that it would be forced to act if there was no progress in reducing the trade imbalance by October.
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