Following a deal to curb Chinese hybrid car imports, EU lawmakers are demanding similar measures in other industrial sectors, warning that Beijing’s export-driven economic model threatens European jobs and industries.
A delegation of European lawmakers has warned China that its export-driven economic model is unsustainable for Europe, demanding curbs on cheap imports across more industrial sectors as Brussels steps up pressure on Beijing to rebalance trade.
The warning came during a visit to China by 12 MEPs, who urged Beijing to build on a deal reached earlier this month to limit Chinese hybrid car exports to the EU.
The EU’s trade deficit with China has reached a record €360 billion and continues to widen as low-cost Chinese imports flood the European market, threatening jobs and industries.
“The recent TIC [Trade and Investment Consultations] agreement on hybrid car imports is a good starting point in stabilising fair trade and producing benefits for people on the ground,” German Socialist MEP Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee, said after the visit.
“However, we made clear to our Chinese counterparts that we expect to see more sectors following the same approach in the future.”
Under the October deal, the EU will introduce country-specific quotas allowing 350,000 Chinese hybrid cars onto the European market annually over four years, with a fixed annual adjustment rate of 6%.
But restricting hybrid car imports alone will do little to reverse the growing trade imbalance.
The EU and China have entered a new phase of negotiations, with talks expected to continue until at least March 2027, when EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič is due to meet his Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao.
“Heavy” job losses
The issue was raised during a meeting between the MEP delegation and Wang in China, where exports have become a cornerstone of Beijing’s industrial strategy.
“The Chinese export model is simply not sustainable for the EU,” French liberal MEP Pascal Canfin, the standing rapporteur on trade relations with China, also said.
Given the urgency, EU leaders mandated the European Commission at a summit earlier this month to impose unilateral quotas and tariffs on imports of chemicals and industrial machinery, two other sectors seriously threatened by Chinese competition.
While negotiations continue, the Commission is also working on a “kill-switch” that would cut China’s access to the single market in the event of market distortions caused by economic pressure.
The EU is also tackling unfair Chinese trade practices through product-by-product investigations, but EU countries consider this insufficient, given that Chinese imports threaten entire sectors of EU’s industry.
Last Friday, after meeting the 27 EU trade ministers, Šefčovič said that every head of state or government is “concerned” that there might be “heavy losses of jobs.”
He added: “We have to proceed not only with the traditional trade techniques, but also with a very political approach.”
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