Germany and France Push Trade Weapon to Bar China Access

Submission Statement: Germany and France are urging the European Union to adopt new powers that would enable the bloc to cut off access to its single market if China or other nations destabilize trade relations. The suggestion came in a letter, seen by Bloomberg News, sent Monday to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the top EU executive.

“We need a credible instrument in the hands of the Commission to allow for decisive and systemic reaction,” the letter reads, suggesting “powerful measures up to an immediate cut-off from the internal market if needed.”

The letter also calls for an instrument that would force Europe to reduce various supply chain dependencies on foreign countries.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the proposal was devised in Berlin and Paris as the bloc is being “massively affected” by unfair trade practices — and the commission needs better tools.

“We want to enable the European Commission to act quickly when necessary,” Merz told reporters in Berlin. “The drawback of European trade policy in recent years has always been that decision-making took too long.”

German officials, speaking anonymously in line with government protocol, said the market-access tool should be seen as a second strike weapon in an all-out trade war with a country like China. It could be deployed, for instance, if China blocked all exports of rare earth materials, which the EU relies on to build modern technologies.

In addition to the new tools, Germany and France are urging the EU to more aggressively investigate whether entire sectors, such as chemicals, plastics and hybrid cars, are facing unfair competition from heavily subsidized imports. Such investigations could result in new tariffs.

Currently, such EU investigations tend to focus on specific products, not entire sectors.