BRUSSELS (Realist English). The European Union plans to use safeguard measures to reduce imports of Chinese products in a number of sectors, including the chemical industry, furniture production, and engineering. Bloomberg reported this, citing sources familiar with the situation. The measures — in the form of import quotas or duties — are expected to be presented as early as the first quarter of 2027.
Record deficit and the “hybrid” deal
The new round of restrictions is a logical continuation of Brussels’ course toward “orderly rebalancing” of trade with Beijing. In 2025, the EU’s trade deficit with China reached €360 billion, and in the second quarter of 2026 it amounted to €103 billion — the highest since 2022. In July–August 2026, the deficit was growing by about €1 billion per day.
In October, the parties reached a preliminary “understanding” on hybrid vehicles: the EU is introducing a safeguard measure limiting exports of Chinese hybrids and plug-in hybrids to a quota of 350,000 units in 2027 (compared with an expected 800,000 without restrictions), with subsequent growth of 6% per year over three years.
According to European Commission estimates, this will reduce imports by 500,000–700,000 vehicles and cut the trade deficit by €10–14 billion. However, as Bruegel analysts note, automobiles are only a small part of the imbalance: the main contribution comes from engineering, chemicals, metals, solar panels, and batteries, where there has been virtually no progress.
Why chemicals and engineering
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen named the chemical industry and industrial engineering as priority sectors for new measures. According to Politico, the European Commission is already working on safeguard measures for plastics and epoxy resins, although the formal investigation preceding the introduction of safeguards has not yet begun. Germany, France, and other countries supported accelerating the process, and the Franco-German “emergency kill switch” mechanism is also under discussion.
The EU is moving from targeted anti-dumping procedures to a broader instrument — safeguard measures, which, unlike anti-dumping, do not require proof of unfair competition but are applied in cases of a “sharp rise in imports.”
This changes the rules of the game: Brussels effectively gains the ability to promptly restrict access of Chinese goods to the EU market on a sectoral basis, rather than within the framework of months-long investigations.
However, the effectiveness of these measures is limited by the structure of the imbalance. Hybrid quotas reduce the deficit by €10–14 billion against a total deficit of €360 billion — about 3–4%. If new measures on chemicals and engineering are equally narrow, they will not change the overall picture.
For China, this is a signal that the EU is ready to expand restrictions but is not yet ready for a large-scale trade conflict, which was avoided in October. For European producers, it is a temporary respite but not a solution to the structural problem of competitiveness.
