German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron have asked the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, for a trade mechanism that could rapidly restrict Chinese access to the EU market.
The proposal would shift power towards Brussels, allowing the Commission, the EU executive responsible for trade policy across the 27-member union, to respond to severe distortions potentially immediately. France and Germany have called for a tool that could cut off access to the EU market when third countries cause such distortions.
Merz and Macron set out the plan in a joint paper and a letter to von der Leyen. “We need a credible instrument in the hands of the Commission to allow for decisive and systemic reaction, i.e. activation by reversed qualified majority, and for powerful measures up to an immediate cut-off from the internal market if needed”.
The proposed instrument would cover political or economic pressure, currency manipulation and undervaluation, extending beyond established cases involving dumping or subsidies. It could be used against a single product or across an entire sector.
Its central procedural change would be reversed qualified majority voting. The Commission could act unless a qualified majority of EU members objected, preventing a single capital from blocking the measure.
France and Germany have clashed over China policy in the past, yet have moved closer in recent months. Berlin’s shift has come amid a rise in Chinese imports in key sectors that its officials call a “China Shock 2.0”.
The economic case set out by the two governments is stark. Bloomberg Economics found that market share lost to Chinese manufacturers cost the EU 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product in 2025. That loss amounted to almost US$150 billion, while the EU’s trade deficit with China reached approximately 360 billion euros in 2025, an increase of 89% since 2015.
Berlin and Paris have sought urgent targeted measures in chemicals, some plastics and plug-in hybrid vehicles. They also want a diversification instrument intended to reduce dependencies and require companies to spread their sourcing risks.
The existing EU Anti-Coercion Instrument takes months of investigation and needs support from a qualified majority of member-state governments, a process that has proved too slow against systemic distortions.
For Sönke Siegfriedsen, a German engineer, the argument over industrial competition has had a direct professional cost. He spent seven years developing a floating offshore wind turbine design before his company failed to find European partners and closed. Ming Yang Smart Energy later licensed the patent under a per-unit agreement. “A Chinese businessman was able to build his company's success with the help of my design”.
Merz and Macron aim to present a position paper at the EU summit on 15 October, setting out measures to address existing trade imbalances. Leaders are due to meet in Brussels next week to discuss what is considered an existential problem for European industry, including whether to adopt new trade mechanisms.
Before that meeting, the EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic and China’s commerce minister, Wang Wentao, are scheduled to hold talks on Thursday and Friday.
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