The thorny issues of China and trade will be firmly on the EU agenda this week.
After an eight year gap, an International Trade committee delegation from the EU parliament will travel to Beijing and Shanghai for talks with Chinese counterparts.
The focus will be on “fair” competition and trade, better market access for European companies, industrial subsidies, secure supply chains, and critical raw materials.
S&D vice-president Kathleen van Brempt, INTA committee chair Bernd Lange, and S&D INTA coordinator Brando Benifei are among those heading to China.
The trip is from Tuesday to Thursday.
Elsewhere, the EU’s €360 billion trade deficit with China underlines the need for a tougher European response to unfair trade practices, the EPP Group says in a new position paper.
The Group is calling for “stronger, faster EU action to tackle unfair trade practices, protect European businesses and reduce strategic dependencies.”
The EPP says it has put forward many proposals, including considerably shortening trade investigations, which can currently take up to 18 months, and strengthening customs checks to prevent companies from evading existing measures.
It calls for closer scrutiny of sectors vital to Europe’s economic security, including advanced technologies and critical infrastructure, alongside stronger coordination among Member States on export controls and foreign investment screening. It also insists on granting better access to the Chinese market for European companies and stronger EU trade tools.
Juan Ignacio Zoido MEP, author of the position paper, said, “A trade deficit of almost €1 billion a day should be a wake-up call. The EPP Group’s position is not one of trade confrontation but of results-oriented dialogue.
“However, were diplomatic efforts to fail, the European Union as a whole should be ready to effectively respond to unfair trade practices targeting the EU market.”
To strengthen Europe’s economic security, the EPP urges the EU to diversify its trade partners and suppliers by advancing the ratification of free trade agreements, concluding ongoing negotiations and reducing reliance on critical raw materials through cooperation with trusted partners worldwide.
The paper calls for action against the circumvention of EU trade defence measures through transhipment, rerouting and poor traceability. It also urges a coordinated response to economic coercion, combining mutual support and joint countermeasures among Member States.
MEP Jörgen Warborn, the EPP Group’s spokesman on international trade, said, “China remains an important trading partner, but the EU must be prepared to act when unfair practices put European businesses at a disadvantage. Europe cannot afford to depend too heavily on a single supplier for strategic technologies and critical materials.
“We need to diversify our supply chains and open new markets for European exporters,” said Warborn.
Meanwhile, a recent vote by the Committees on Industry and Transport has been described as “a gift to the Chinese automotive industry.”
Members voted to approve an agreement to move away from the planned phase-out of combustion engines by 2035. A vote in the lead committee, the Committee on the Environment, is expected to take place on November 4.
Greens/EFA Group leader Terry Reintke, criticized “this departure” from the combustion engine phase-out.
She said, “Weakening CO2 limits for cars is a gift to the Chinese automotive industry. The deal on internal combustion engines, struck between conservatives, socialists, and liberals, further dilutes the European Commission’s already watered-down proposal and sets a dangerous downward spiral in motion.”
Her comments are echoed by Michael Bloss, Greens/EFA Group shadow rapporteur for CO2 emission standards for cars.
Bloss described it as a “poor deal” for Europe’s automotive industry, saying, “This is a bad deal for Europe’s automotive industry and a good deal for China.”
The MEP went on, “For over a century, Europe has built the best cars in the world, a lead it could have carried over into the electric era. Instead, Conservatives and Social Democrats are handing over leadership in automotive manufacturing to China.”
