In a joint letter to the European Commission, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron have called for a fundamental rethinking of how Europe defends itself in an era of weaponized trade. Without naming China or the United States directly, the two leaders argued that the open trading order is being hollowed out from within — and that Europe, long dependent on the goodwill of others for its critical materials and technologies, can no longer afford to wait for consensus before acting. The proposal arrives at a moment when the continent is searching for sovereignty in
Merz and Macron push EU for tougher trade defenses against China, US
The open trading system is being massively compromised
Mark
So Merz and Macron are asking the Commission to be able to kick countries out of the single market on its own. That's a pretty big move. What's driving this right now?
Mimi
The trade deficit with China is enormous—360 billion euros a year—and Europe is stuck depending on China for rare earths and other materials it can't easily get elsewhere. They're also nervous about US tariff policy under Trump. It feels like the old rules don't protect them anymore.
Luke
But here's the thing: they don't name China or the US in the letter itself. We're inferring who they mean based on context. That matters because it's a "non-paper," which is nonbinding anyway. So this is a proposal to start a conversation, not a done deal.
Mark
What would actually change if this passed? Can the Commission really just exclude a country?
Mimi
Not quite. The Commission could act first, but member states could still block it with a qualified majority vote. So it's faster than the current process, but not unilateral in the way it might sound.
Luke
And that's important to flag: we don't know if member states would actually support giving the Commission that power. Some countries might worry about retaliation against their own exports. Hungary, for instance, has different relationships with China and Russia than Germany does.
Mark
So this is really about Europe feeling squeezed—caught between China's market dominance and Trump's unpredictability?
Mimi
Exactly. Both leaders are under pressure to show they can protect their economies. The letter frames it as a sovereignty issue, not just a trade issue.
Luke
Though we should note: China has already warned of retaliation. So even if the EU passes this, it could trigger exactly the kind of trade war these leaders are trying to prevent. The mechanism might exist, but using it carries real costs.
Der Puls
- Europe's €360 billion annual trade deficit with China and its deep reliance on Chinese rare earths have created structural vulnerabilities that Merz and Macron now describe as threats to the continent's economic survival.
- The joint letter proposes giving the European Commission the unprecedented power to unilaterally shut a country out of the EU single market — a dramatic escalation of Brussels' enforcement authority that would reshape the balance between Commission and member states.
- Beijing has already signaled it is watching closely, warning of potential retaliation if the proposals are perceived as hostile — a reminder that confrontation with China carries real economic costs for a Europe still deeply entangled with it.
- The proposal lands just days before EU trade commissioner Sefcovic travels to Beijing and ahead of a mid-October EU leaders' summit, compressing the diplomatic timeline and raising the stakes of every conversation.
- Whether the remaining 25 member states will accept such an expansion of Commission power — even with a qualified majority override — remains the central political question standing between this letter and any real change.
In a joint letter to the European Commission, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron have called for a fundamental rethinking of how Europe defends itself in an era of weaponized trade. Without naming China or the United States directly, the two leaders argued that the open trading order is being hollowed out from within — and that Europe, long dependent on the goodwill of others for its critical materials and technologies, can no longer afford to wait for consensus before acting. The proposal arrives at a moment when the continent is searching for sovereignty in a world that has grown less willing to offer it.
On Monday, Friedrich Merz and Emmanuel Macron sent a joint letter to the head of the European Commission calling for sharper tools to defend Europe against what they described as systematic market distortions and unfair trade practices. Neither China nor the United States was named directly, but the message was unmistakable. Both leaders, facing sluggish growth and fiscal strain at home, framed the appeal as a matter of European survival in an increasingly hostile economic landscape.
The letter — a nonbinding "non-paper" designed to open debate rather than commit anyone to a position — proposed two concrete mechanisms. The first would require companies to diversify supply chains and reduce dependence on any single country. The second, more consequential proposal would allow the European Commission to unilaterally exclude a country from the EU single market in exceptional circumstances, without waiting for the lengthy approval process currently required. Member states could still block such a move, but only if at least 55 percent of them, representing 65 percent of the EU's population, voted against it.
The context made the targets plain. The EU's trade deficit with China runs to roughly €360 billion annually, and Europe's dependence on Chinese rare earths and on both China and the United States for semiconductors and AI services has created what Merz and Macron called "geoeconomic risks" to European competitiveness and sovereignty. They warned that the open trading system is being "massively compromised" by the instrumentalization of trade and systemic market-distorting practices.
The letter arrived just before EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic was due in Beijing for negotiations, and ahead of a mid-October EU leaders' summit where trade strategy is expected to dominate. Beijing responded quickly, warning of potential retaliation if the proposals were seen as hostile — a reminder of how costly confrontation with China remains for a continent still deeply economically intertwined with it. Whether the broader EU membership will accept such an expansion of Commission authority is the question that will determine whether this letter becomes policy or simply punctuates a moment of anxiety.
On Monday, the German Chancellor and French President sent a joint letter to the head of the European Commission proposing a significant shift in how the European Union handles trade disputes with other major powers. Friedrich Merz and Emmanuel Macron did not name names, but their message was unmistakable: the EU needs sharper tools to defend itself against what they described as systematic market distortions and unfair trade practices. The two leaders, both grappling with sluggish growth and fiscal pressures at home, framed their appeal as a matter of European survival in an increasingly hostile economic landscape.
The letter, formally known in EU circles as a "non-paper"—a nonbinding proposal meant to spark discussion rather than commit anyone to a position—called for two specific new mechanisms. The first would require companies to diversify their supply chains and reduce dependence on single-source suppliers from any one country. The second, more dramatic proposal would grant the European Commission the power to unilaterally exclude a country from access to the EU's single market in what Merz and Macron called "exceptional circumstances." Currently, such a move requires a lengthy process and approval from member states. Under the new proposal, the Commission could act independently, though member states could still block the decision if at least 55 percent of them, representing at least 65 percent of the EU's total population, voted against it.
The timing and context made the targets of this appeal clear enough. The EU's trade deficit with China stands at roughly €360 billion annually—though Chinese statisticians put the figure lower, at around $292 billion. Beyond the raw imbalance, Europe faces a deeper vulnerability: its dependence on China for rare earth minerals and other critical raw materials, combined with reliance on both China and the United States for high-tech imports, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence services. Merz and Macron wrote that these dependencies created "geoeconomic risks" that threatened European competitiveness and sovereignty. They argued that "the open and rules-based trading system is being massively compromised" by what they called the "instrumentalization of trade" and "systemic market-distorting practices."
The letter arrived just days before the EU's trade commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, was scheduled to travel to Beijing for negotiations. Sefcovic had previously stated his hope for "tangible results by October" on trade matters with China, though whether such results would materialize remained uncertain. The proposal also preceded an EU leaders' summit scheduled for mid-October, where the broader question of European trade strategy would likely dominate discussion.
Beijing did not wait long to respond. Chinese officials warned that they would consider retaliatory measures if they perceived the EU's proposals as hostile to their interests. The warning underscored the delicate position Europe now occupies: economically intertwined with China in ways that make confrontation costly, yet increasingly concerned that the current relationship leaves European companies and workers at a structural disadvantage. For Merz and Macron, the letter represented an attempt to shift that balance—to give Brussels the legal authority to act decisively if negotiations failed. Whether the rest of the EU would support such a dramatic expansion of Commission power remained to be seen.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
The open and rules-based trading system is being massively compromised by the instrumentalization of trade, systemic market-distorting practices and global macroeconomic imbalances.— Merz and Macron in their joint letter
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