Nearly a quarter of imports into the European Union are rising at a “worrying” rate, driven primarily by goods from China, the European Commission’s chief trade enforcement officer said on Thursday.
A drone view shows electric vehicles (EV) for export and containers sitting at a port in Shanghai, China April 13, 2025 – China Daily via REUTERS/File Photo
Denis Redonnet told the European Parliament that sectors facing sustained and abnormal import growth included machinery, textiles, basic metals, and chemicals. Redonnet was addressing the parliament’s trade committee as the Commission intensifies discussions with Beijing to address the EU’s goods trade deficit with China of €360 billion ($407 billion) in 2025.
Chinese imports into the bloc have been rising while EU exports to China have fallen by a similar rate, and Brussels hopes to agree some form of Chinese export management this month. “It is of serious concern that the import surveillance or barometer results… show potentially worrying trends for almost a quarter of all imports into the EU at the moment,” Redonnet said. “And China and Chinese origin is the main driver of these import increases.”
EU imports totalled €2.53 trillion ($2.86 trillion) in 2025, with €571 billion from China. The increased exports have driven a sharp increase in industry requests for trade defence measures.
The EU executive Commission launched 32 new cases in 2025, just off the 2024 record of 33 and compared to a previous historical annual average of 12. More than a third of new investigations involved the chemicals sector. Redonnet said 27 new cases had already been opened in 2026.
