Merz and Macron want the EU to hit back harder - and faster - against trade threats

Key Points:

• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron jointly called for faster and more decisive EU trade actions, urging the European Commission to have greater power to restrict or cut off imports from countries causing "severe and systematic distortions" in the single market.
• The leaders propose a new legal framework to complement existing trade defense tools, enabling the Commission to act without lengthy delays or the need for unanimous approval from EU member states, effectively reversing the current qualified majority voting system.
• This initiative aims to strengthen the EU’s position in trade confrontations, particularly addressing concerns over China’s trade practices and the bloc’s €1-billion-a-day trade deficit, by creating more credible countermeasures similar to U.S. Section 301 tariffs.
• The proposal marks a significant shift in Germany’s traditionally cautious trade stance, with both Berlin and Paris signaling a more aggressive and structured approach to protecting European industry from external economic coercion.
• The move has been welcomed by European Parliament trade officials and economists as a critical step toward more effective EU trade policy, reflecting a broader Franco-German effort to adopt tougher economic strategies in response to global trade challenges.