Expert warns EU '301-style' tool will backfire and erode sincerity in dialogue with China as France, Germany push new EU trade tool

After France and Germany proposed that the EU reinforce its economy by introducing a new measure to strike back at countries deemed to harm its interests, reportedly with China as a likely target, a Chinese expert on Tuesday criticized the move as unilateral, noting that it would not solve the EU's declining industrial competitiveness but would instead undermine the mutually beneficial China-EU economic and trade relationship as well as the global trade order.

According to Reuters, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday. They claimed “systemic market-distorting practices” jeopardize the bloc's economy and industrial base, requiring urgent action.

German officials said the EU needs a tool as powerful as the Section 301 tariffs imposed by the US. The bloc, said the document, needs to deploy its trade defense tools more swiftly and efficiently, with more investigations and a broader approach to cover whole sectors, Reuters reported on Monday.

“Europe filed a case with the WTO challenging the validity of the US’ Section 301 in 1998, but now some European officials are proposing to replicate the very weapon they once denounced. It constitutes a classic unilateral protectionist measure and runs counter to the principles of free trade, both bilaterally and globally,” Jian Junbo, director of the Center for China-Europe Relations at Fudan University's Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Jian noted that this shift stems from the EU’s anxieties over its own declining industrial capacity and competitiveness. Yet instead of confronting its own shortcomings, the EU simply pins the blame on trade and market ties with China, which is an approach that externalizes and oversimplifies the problem, the expert said.

According to Reuters, the document added that there was an urgent need for measures to deal with imports ‌of chemicals, PET (polyester) and hybrid vehicles. Moreover, France and Germany said the European Commission should propose two new instruments including limiting companies' reliance on single sources for certain critical supplies and limiting access to the EU single market for countries that undermine fair market conditions through political or economic means.

“Europe's dependence on Chinese supply in certain sectors is not due to trade barriers being too low, but because Europe's own capacity gap is structural. If this measure is truly implemented, the first to suffer will be Europe's own businesses and consumers,” Jian said.

European importers choose Chinese goods based on commercial considerations of price, quality and delivery efficiency. Forcibly cutting off these channels would mean higher input costs for Europe's downstream manufacturers and more expensive end products for European consumers, Jian warned.

“Whether the measure can ultimately be implemented remains highly uncertain. Technically, the trigger criteria and operational details are difficult to define; politically, with so many EU member states, internal divisions are inevitable,” the expert said.

The latest move comes as some media outlets reported that European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic will visit Beijing from October 8 to 9 for the next round of China-EU trade talks.

“While engaging in trade and investment consultations with China, the EU is simultaneously rushing to build unilateral tools aimed at China, which is a contradiction that has eroded the EU’s sincerity in dialogue. Trust is the foundation of any consultation, and building trust requires both sides to demonstrate goodwill on equal terms,” Jian said.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said on September 29 that the reported European version of the US’ "Section 301" tool is a typical protectionist and unilateral measure, which will not help solve problems, but will instead backfire on the EU itself and disrupt China-EU trade as well as the stability of global industrial and supply chains.

The EU itself has also been a victim of such tools. One should not impose on others what one does not desire for oneself, the ministry said.

China urges the EU to stay on the right track of managing differences through dialogue. China will closely follow the EU's next moves. If the EU insists on introducing discriminatory restrictions against Chinese companies or products, China will respond resolutely to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese industries, the ministry noted.