France and Germany want Brussels to be able to hit back fast when a trading partner bends the rules. On Monday, October 5, 2026, President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Friedrich Merz sent a joint letter and policy paper to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Reuters reported. China is the most likely focus, though the paper names no country.
The timing is deliberate. EU leaders are due to discuss Chinese trade imbalances at a Brussels summit about ten days after the letter, and the trade commissioner is due in Beijing. The EU’s goods deficit with China was about €360 billion last year, roughly €1 billion a day in 2025.
How the new tool would work
The mechanics here matter more than the headline. The paper describes a country-agnostic instrument that would switch on when a third country undermines fair market conditions by political or economic means. It would let the EU restrict access to the single market. The catch is what it leaves out: the paper does not say what would trigger a response or what action the EU should take.
The voting rule is the real novelty. A Commission proposal to activate countermeasures would pass unless a qualified majority of member states opposed it, a lower hurdle than some trade measures face. German officials said the Commission could act within days. Legislation creating the instrument would still need approval from EU governments and the European Parliament.
The paper lists the distortions it has in mind, from dumping and widespread subsidies to currency manipulation and limits on currency convertibility. German officials compared the ambition to US Section 301 tariffs or China’s export restrictions on critical minerals, in a world where trade is increasingly used as a weapon.
A second instrument and a warning
The two governments also asked the Commission to bring forward a diversification instrument as soon as possible. The Commission has already mentioned it. It would limit companies’ reliance on single sources for critical supplies.
The paper warns of a massive industrial shock in pharmaceuticals, aerospace, automotive, industrial machinery and chemicals, and argues that protecting narrow categories of goods is no longer enough. It calls for existing trade defense tools to be used faster, with more investigations and a broader approach that covers whole sectors. It singles out chemicals, PET and hybrid vehicles as needing urgent measures.
The Commission welcomed the letter as a valuable contribution to the debate on geoeconomic risks and global imbalances, and said it fit von der Leyen’s approach to trading partners, China included. A French presidential adviser told reporters that France and Germany “are very keen to put an end to the naivete on trade.”
Sources
- Germany, France propose EU tool against trade coercion
- France, Germany push for EU rapid-response trade tool with likely
