The EU is preparing a tool that could completely cut off a rival from the single market if it attacks the bloc's economy, according to people familiar with the plans cited by Bloomberg, as leaders met in Brussels on Thursday, 15 October.
Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao reached a deal in the week of 5 October capping Chinese hybrid and plug-in hybrid car exports to the EU at 350,000 vehicles a year, per the Irish Times.
POLITICO reported that von der Leyen was expected to tell EU leaders on Thursday that chemicals and industrial machinery are being examined for protection, and Bloomberg said similar limits may follow in chemicals and mechanical engineering.
The Irish Times reported that the EU trade deficit with China has exceeded €1 billion a day, while China overtook Germany as the largest machine-tool exporter in 2025 according to VDW figures.
The European Union is preparing a trade deterrence tool that would completely cut a rival off from the bloc's single market if it attacks the EU economy, according to people familiar with the plans cited by Bloomberg. EU leaders met in Brussels on Thursday, 15 October, to discuss defensive tools that could be used if further dialogue with China goes nowhere, the Irish Times reported. POLITICO said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was expected to tell leaders that Brussels is looking at ways to protect chemicals and industrial machinery. The Irish Times framed the summit as an effort to keep tensions between Brussels and Beijing from spiralling into a trade war.
Talks in the week of 5 October between Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao produced an agreement capping Chinese exports of hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars to the EU at 350,000 vehicles a year, the Irish Times reported. POLITICO said the cap applies next year and is less than half of the deliveries expected this year. In return China agreed to lower tariffs on European ice cream, olive oil, footwear and car parts, a sweetener the Irish Times said does not solve the underlying imbalance. A senior European Commission official told the Irish Times the aim has shifted from winning greater access to the Chinese market to getting China to sell less to the EU. The EU now wants to replicate the cap and negotiate similar controls in other manufacturing sectors.
Two people with knowledge of the discussion told POLITICO that chemicals and industrial machinery will be prioritised, because safeguards are currently the most effective tool as they can be applied quickly and broadly. Bloomberg reported on 15 October that the EU had begun evaluating trade data to detect import surges, a first step toward placing quotas on additional sectors. Bloomberg had reported on 14 October that the EU identified furniture and scooters where surging Chinese imports threaten local manufacturers, and that similar limits may follow in industries including chemicals and mechanical engineering. Europe's industrial sectors are struggling with cheaper, state-subsidised products from China, including electric vehicles, solar panels and consumer goods.
China overtook Germany as the world's largest machine-tool exporter in 2025, according to figures POLITICO cited from Germany's VDW machine-tool builders' association. Chinese exports rose 13% to €8.6 billion, while German exports fell 10% to €7 billion. European governments have called for further sectors to be protected as the bilateral trade deficit continues to grow. The Irish Times said the deficit has exceeded €1 billion a day, and noted that cars, chemicals and manufacturing have long powered the European economy, which is why factory closures alarm governments.
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The European Union is preparing a deterrence tool that could cut a rival off from its single market, while officials weigh curbs on chemicals and machinery after a hybrid car cap agreed with Beijing.
AI text based on reports by Bloomberg Business, POLITICO and The Irish Times. Changed .