Chinese chemicals and machinery in EU crosshairs as leaders back more trade curbs
Por Finbarr Bermingham — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement China-EU relations China Chinese chemicals and machinery in EU crosshairs as leaders back more trade curbs
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen floats safeguards as member states fall in behind two-track strategy to deal with China shock
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Finbarr Bermingham in Brussels Published: 12:41am, 16 Oct 2026 Updated: 12:56am, 16 Oct 2026
Chemicals and industrial machinery were identified as the top priority industries the EU needs to shield against Chinese imports during a meeting between the EU’s top leaders in Brussels on Thursday.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the bloc’s 27 member states that the EU should consider quickly introducing safeguard measures, which can involve import quotas and tariffs, to shield these sectors from a wave of cut-price alternatives from China, according to people familiar with the discussion.
Her motion was endorsed by influential member states, including France, Germany, Belgium and Denmark, while the wind turbine industry was also mentioned during the debate as one that needs intervention to alleviate pressure from Chinese imports, one of the people said.
The bloc is currently running the numbers on these sectors using a monitoring mechanism it created to identify surges in imports. Select Voice Select Speed 0.8x 0.9x 1.0x 1.1x 1.2x 1.5x 1.75x 00:00 00:00 1x AI-generated voice
