Spain rejects France’s push to tighten EU trade measures against China

Spain does not support France’s initiative to strengthen European Union trade defence measures against China, Spanish Minister of Economy and Trade Carlos Cuerpo has said, according to POLITICO.

Earlier, Spain was among the countries that signed a French-backed document sent to the European Commission calling for expanded trade restrictions, more active use of investigations, and the creation of a new mechanism to address market distortions.

However, Spanish officials have since distanced themselves from the initiative.

“There was no specific political support of any non-paper at this stage,” Cuerpo said.

He also advocated for stronger dialogue with Beijing, stressing that the European Union must build relations with China and the United States “on equal footing.”

“We understand that the EU needs to step up, and that means that we need to talk, from equal to equal, on an equal footing with China and the U.S.,” he said in response to a POLITICO question on the margins of a meeting of ministerial colleagues from the EU’s six largest economies — France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland, adding, “We need to engage with the Chinese authorities.”

By Jeyhun Aghazada