European Commission

Published on
28/09/2026 – 12:25 GMT+2

Brussels and Beijing are fighting over quotas that would limit Chinese imports to the EU market, as the Europeans seek to rebalance their trade relationship with China, Euronews has learned.

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Both started intense negotiations last June over EU and Chinese access to each other’s markets, with an October deadline set by the European Commission to reach “tanglible” results. However, China is pushing hard against the EU’s attempts to protect its market.

According to one person familiar with the matter, the Commission, which is negotiating on behalf of the 27 EU countries on trade issues, wants China to accept quotas on specific products.

However, it is unclear how China would accept and respect such quotas.

Trade defence mechanisms delayed

According to media reports, so-called “voluntary export restrictions” have been pushed by the Commission for electric vehicles. But Beijing’s trade minister rejected them in a statement earlier this month.

If China accepted such a system of restrictions, it would mean that it voluntarily limits its exports to the EU on the basis of a deal negotiated with the Commission, sparing the EU from adopting defensive trade measures that might be seen as an aggressive move by China.

Technical negotiations are in their final stretch as the October deadline is approaching.

Director General of DG Trade at the Commission, Ditte Juul Jørgensen, travelled to China last week for two days of heated discussions, and EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič is due to be in Beijing on 8 and 9 October for political talks, ahead of a key meeting of EU leaders in Brussels.

To give negotiations a chance, the Commission has delayed the adoption of trade defence mechanisms aiming to protect the EU chemical industry, according to another person familiar with the matter. The chemical industry is one of the sectors most threatened by Chinese competition in the EU.

However, the threat also targets other sectors, making the rebalancing of the trade relationship “existential” for the Europeans, EU Industry and Trade Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné told Euronews last week.

According to the Commission, the EU already lost 250,000 industrial jobs last year, particularly concentrated in energy-intensive sectors and automotive supply chains.

Published on 22/09/2026 – 11:54 GMT+2•Updated
12:00

The European Commission struck a trade agreement with the Philippines on Tuesday, stepping up its diversification strategy across the Indo-Pacific region.

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The deal comes more than a year after the US introduced sweeping new tariffs on many of its trading partners, prompting retaliatory measures and adding to global trade tensions.

Since then, the EU has been seeking new trade ties, recently concluding major deals with India, Australia and Indonesia.

“This agreement sends a clear signal that the EU is reinforcing its engagement with the Indo-Pacific,” EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said on Tuesday.

“Half of global consumers are covered by European Free trade agreements. Nobody else has this advantage.”

“Squeeze on supply chains”

The new agreement will give EU businesses access to a market of 113 million people, and remove over 94% of customs duties. It will cover more than 97% of bilateral trade, including EU exports of machinery, medicines and medical appliances, as well as agri-products such as meat, pork, poultry and spirits.

Exports from the Philippines are dominated by semiconductors, integrated circuits and industrial machinery.

The deal should also facilitate EU investment in raw materials in the Philippines, as the EU seeks to move away from China, which holds a monopoly on key raw materials.

Bilateral trade in goods between the EU and the Philippines was €17.6 billion in 2025, while trade in services reached €10.3 billion in 2024. The stock of EU foreign direct investment in the Philippines amounted to €15.4 billion.

Šefčovič also said there was a “mutual interest” with countries in the wider Indo-Pacific area “to address the current global turbulence” and “the squeeze on the supply chains.”

Brussels says China has weaponised critical products for EU industry such as chips and rare earths in 2025, jeopardising whole sectors such as the car industry.

The Commissioner added that trade deals with Thailand and Malaysia were next on the EU agenda, with an agreement with Bangkok foreseen by the end of the year.