Commission urges Member States to support proposals to strengthen European defences against unfair trade

EU News 338/2016

Brussels, 19 October 2016

The Commission today called upon Member States to support its efforts to provide the European Union with updated, strengthened and more robust trade defence instruments.

Despite the fact that the European Commission has been using the available trade defence instruments toolbox to its full extent, these have proven insufficient to deal with the huge overcapacities that result in dumped exports on the EU market.

The EU is and wants to remain the biggest trading bloc in the world. But trade must be based on fair conditions. The EU accounts for 15% of world imports (second only to the United States), yet the EU's trade defence measures correspond to only 7,8% of those in place worldwide and affect a mere 0,21% of the imports. When it comes to implementing measures to defend jobs on its territory, no trade bloc exercises a similar level of self-restraint, due to the limitations imposed by the current legislation.

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In a dedicated Communication entitled 'Towards a robust trade policy for the EU in the interest of jobs and growth', the Commission also outlined how a new anti-dumping methodology which the Commission intends to propose would be used to address situations where market conditions do not prevail, while dealing with forthcoming changes to the legal framework of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Source and additional information:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-3475_en.htm?locale=en

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