EU seeks Chinese import quotas as trade chief travels to Beijing
Two days of talks come as the EU’s daily trade deficit with China reaches a record €1 billion and an October deadline for progress nears.
Maroš Šefčovič, the EU trade commissioner, travels to Beijing on October 7 for negotiations with Wang Wentao, China’s commerce minister. Over two days, the officials will discuss trade imbalances as Brussels seeks quotas covering specific Chinese products and presses for progress by October.
The EU now records a daily trade deficit of €1 billion with China, its highest level, and every member state imports more from China than it exports there. EU leaders want concrete progress from Šefčovič before their Brussels summit.
Talks started in June over Chinese exports that EU officials consider distortive to trade. Beijing has not accepted Brussels’ push to curb exports and recently declined an EU proposal to voluntarily restrict electric vehicle shipments.
In an early September interview, Šefčovič said leaders were looking for a possible solution or a pilot arrangement. He cautioned that negotiations without tangible progress in October would increase political pressure for tougher measures.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron have advocated a new mechanism for the Commission to respond swiftly to economic threats. That could include immediately denying access to the EU’s internal market when necessary.
Beijing has threatened retaliation against proposals to restrict EU market access. Since talks began, the Commission has investigated Chinese products for unfair trading practices and imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese companies. China has also opened an investigation into chemicals from the EU.