Europe and the US could jointly slap tariffs on China if Washington pledges to remove its duties on EU exports, said Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s international trade committee.
Brussels’ oft-repeated proposal to “work together” with the US to tackle Beijing’s “overcapacities” could include a “threat” to impose duties on Chinese goods, he told reporters on Wednesday.
The EU’s offer – which would mainly target Chinese steel – comes as part of a broader overture by Brussels to negotiate down Donald Trump’s punishing duties, which include a 25% import tax on cars, steel, and aluminium along with a 10% blanket levy.
“Of course, this might lead to a common threat of tariffs,” Lange said, when asked to elaborate on how the bloc could cooperate with Washington on China policy.
Such a move, he added, should be based on a “clear and evident standard” of overproduction and would ideally “lead to proper discussions” with Beijing on addressing its yawning trade surplus.
China produced 55.1% of the world’s crude steel in 2023, according to the European Steel Association, while the EU produced 6.8% and the US 4.4%. China’s net trade surplus in goods also rose to a record high of €880 billion last year – six times higher than the EU’s.
Lange’s comments also come amid growing fears that the US could force Brussels to adopt a more hawkish line on China to avoid Trump’s duties.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last month that countries seeking to improve relations with Beijing would be “cutting [their] own throat” and called on the US and its allies to “approach China as a group.”
The EU is officially committed to “de-risking” – but not “decoupling” – its economy from China, or reducing its reliance on the world’s second-largest economy in strategic sectors, such as technology and critical minerals.
The UK recently became the first country to sign a trade deal with the US since Trump returned to the White House in January. Many, including Beijing, argue that the deal effectively gives Washington a veto over Chinese investment into Britain.
Lange said the UK-US deal would be “totally unacceptable” for the EU, as it leaves the 10% universal levy in place. He did not refer to the agreement’s alleged anti-China provisions.
He also noted that “working together on economic security” was one of the “five criteria for a good trade deal” recently tabled by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
Greer’s proposal – which Lange suggested would overwhelmingly target China – includes demands to step up transatlantic cooperation over cybersecurity, export controls, and investment screening.
“There are some elements where we can discuss [economic security], but having in mind that, of course, regarding the relation with China, we have sometimes different interests… than the US” Lange said.
Lange suggested that three of the other “criteria” tabled by Greer were similarly feasible, namely ensuring “tariff alignment” between the EU and the US, boosting European purchases of US exports, and “creating economic opportunities for US companies.”
However, Greer’s demand for the EU to lift “non-tariff barriers,” such as food and consumer protection standards, was “unacceptable,” Lange said.
Lifting these barriers is “not in the interest of the people of the EU, and this is not on the table of negotiations,” he added.
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Source: www.euractiv.com
