EU considers safeguards for chemicals and machinery against Chinese imports
The discussions follow an agreement on Chinese hybrid-car imports, though formal investigations into safeguards for plastics and epoxy resins have yet to begin.
Chemicals and industrial machinery are likely to be the next industries targeted for EU protection against Chinese competition, two people familiar with the discussions said. They expected European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss options with EU leaders on 15 October 2026.
The two people, speaking anonymously, said safeguards offered the most effective available approach because they could take effect swiftly and cover a broad range of imports. Whether Beijing had agreed to proposals covering those industries was unclear. The European Commission declined to comment.
Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič has suggested that an agreement with Beijing to restrict Chinese hybrid-car imports could become a model for other industries. The envisaged hybrid safeguards would impose a quota, with tariffs applied above it. Šefčovič said those measures should be ready by December.
Data from Germany’s VDW machine-tool builders’ association show that China became the world’s biggest machine-tool exporter in 2025. Chinese exports reached €8.6 billion after rising 13 per cent, while Germany’s dropped 10 per cent to €7 billion. China now accounts for 18 per cent of EU chemical imports, twice its share a decade earlier.
Commission officials have been preparing possible safeguards covering plastics and epoxy resins. However, the investigation needed before any trade measures has not formally started.
Lynn Song, ING bank’s chief economist for China, said Beijing was unlikely to repeat the hybrid-car arrangement across numerous other industries, warning that China did not want to establish such a precedent.
