The European Union is preparing a new round of import restrictions on Chinese goods, including chemicals, furniture and machinery, that could be announced in the first quarter of 2027, according to a Bloomberg report.
The measures would take the form of safeguards, which allow the EU to limit imports in a sector when they surge, through quotas or tariffs on volumes above a set level. Safeguards would also apply to imports from other countries outside the European Economic Area. A European Commission spokesperson declined to comment.
"We will respond, including with additional safeguard measures," Ursula von der Leyen, the Commission's president, told reporters earlier this month.
A widening gap
The EU's trade deficit with China reached €360bn last year. Under an agreement reached this month, the bloc has capped imports of Chinese-made hybrid vehicles at 350,000 a year, while China will lower tariffs on some European goods, including car parts, olive oil and ice cream. The EU is also considering favouring locally produced cars in subsidy schemes.
Chinese brands took 12.7 per cent of the European car market in the third quarter, overtaking Japanese brands at 11.9 per cent for the first time, according to Dataforce.
China's commerce ministry has warned that the EU "should not harbour the illusion that it can benefit from exerting pressure".
