"Germany and France support the EU's tough stance on trade with China, Germany proposes: consider using the 'nuclear option'"
European countries have actively jumped into the Sino-US trade conflict, and after being counteracted by China, they finally realized "it's a big problem."
According to Bloomberg on October 22, on the 23rd local time, EU countries will hold a leaders' summit in Brussels. A source said that Germany, France, and Poland support discussing China's increasingly strict trade measures against the EU at the summit.
An EU senior official said that although the so-called "economic security" might be mentioned, the summit will not debate the issue of Chinese trade.
Several informed sources told Bloomberg that France wants the EU to consider all retaliatory options against China, and Germany also supports a tough stance on trade with China and is willing to discuss using the "counter-coercion mechanism" as a response to China's latest restrictions on rare earth exports.
The Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) came into effect at the end of 2023, allowing the EU to restrict trade and services, cut certain intellectual property rights, limit foreign direct investment and access to public procurement. Many people regard it as a "nuclear option," whose ideal purpose should be to deter, but it has never been used so far. After the Trump administration imposed tariffs, EU countries repeatedly hinted at using this tool, but it eventually went nowhere.
"Initiating the counter-coercion instrument would be a significant step," Bloomberg said. A German official said that this topic may be raised at this summit, but at the same time warned that if this tool is actually activated, it will face economic backlash. The report added that although Germany is hesitant, this shows that in times of economic difficulties, German Chancellor Merkel is not excluding this option as her predecessors did.
France and Poland are two other EU countries pushing for a tough response to China's trade practices. These people said that France and Poland suggested adding a line about so-called "China's harmful economic actions" in the summit's conclusions.
One European official said that France wants the EU to consider all retaliation options, but is currently exploring other ideas.
When asked for a response, the French presidential palace referred the request for comment to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which did not respond immediately. Poland has not responded yet either.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846645152251146/
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