10 februari 2016 / Europese werknemers, vakbonden en werkgevers lanceren vandaag een Europees Manifesto van de industrie voor vrij en eerlijk handelsverkeer, naar aanleiding van een mars in Brussel  volgende maandag 15 februari. Deze mars moet de beleidsmakers ertoe aanzetten om Chinese dumpingpraktijken in de Europese Unie te stoppen, en een erkenning van markt economie status (MES) voor China te verwerpen.

10 February 2016 / While factories are closing daily across Europe, the European Commission is now openly talking of surrendering Market Economy Status (MES) to China, which would leave Europe defenceless against a flood of Chinese imports that would wipe out European jobs and growth. Up to 3.5 million EU jobs are at risk and €228 billion in annual GDP could be lost. Today almost 22 million people are unemployed in the EU – Europe can ill afford to lose more jobs.

9 February 2016 / French radio channel rfi reports on AEGIS Europe's warning that granting Market Economy Status to China is equivalent to giving it an unlimited license to dump. Thousands of workers will descend upon Brussels on 15 February to protest MES for China. Listen and read in full here (in French).

9 February 2016 / ItalyEurope24, by IlSole24Ore, reports that "Seven European nations, in the midst of a discussion over China’s request for market economy status, have asked in a joint letter to the EU, for strong and swift measures to stop dumping in the sector caused by widespread overcapacity. " This comes ahead of a march of 5,000 employers and employees planned in Brussels on 15 February. Read the article in full here. 

9 February 2016 / China has proven to be illegally dumping products from steel to bicycles in the EU, causing production to shut down here and artificially switch to China. When goods are manufactured in China and consumed in Europe, the environment suffers for two main reasons.

9 February 2016 / Les Echos reports on the AEGIS Europe Manifesto for free and fair trade, published ahead of a march planned in Brussels on 15 February. Read in French here. 

8 February 2016 / By dumping products in the EU, China offloads overproduction, increases its market share and drives out competition. Chinese enterprises dump more products into Europe’s open market than any other country in the world. Indeed, 75% of all the EU's anti-dumping measures in force involve China.

8 February 2016 / I Dipendenti, Sindacati e Datori di Lavoro dell’Industria Europeahanno lanciato oggi il Manifesto Industriale Europeo per il Commercio Equo e Libero, prima della Marcia a Bruxelles, per sollecitare i politici a fermare il dumping cinese e rifiutare il Market Economy Status (MES) alla Cina. La Marcia avrà luogo il 15 febbraio a Bruxelles.

8 February 2016 / European industry employees, trade unions and employers today launched a European Industrial Manifesto for Free and Fair Trade, ahead of a March in Brussels to urge policy makers to stop China dumping and reject Market Economy Status (MES) for China. The March will take place on  Monday 15 February in Brussels.

8 February 2016 / Reuters reports that thousands will march on 15 February in Brussels to protest an EU grant of market economy status to China. Read in full here.

5 February 2016 / The FT reports that EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem will open three new anti-dumping investigations into steel products originating from China. In a letter to Gao Hucheng, Beijing’s commerce minister, she called for Beijing to cut overcapacity in its steel industry. This comes just as the EU is considering whether to grant market economy status to China and thereby relinquish its ability to use the anti-dumping instrument. Read the full article here (subscriber only).

2 February 2016 / Today, European Trade Ministers met to discuss Chinese dumping and China’s Market Economy Status (MES) in Brussels. The European Commission presented Ministers with a paper, which downplays potential European job losses to a level between 63,600 and 211,000 jobs if the EU were to grant China MES in 2016.

2 February 2016 / EurActiv's Daniela Vicenti presents the various positions of member states and industry ahead of an EU trade ministers discussion on the market economy status of China in the Netherlands today. Read it in full here.

2 February 2016 / MEPs shared their views on China's request for market economy status in a plenary debate with EU trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström on 1 February 2016. MEPs maintained that the EU must find a solution, in line with WTO rules, that retains its ability to shield its economy against unfair competition from dumped imports from China, whilst acknowledging it as a strategic trading partner.

30 January 2016 / MEP Manfred Weber, Chair of the EPP Group, explains in IlSole24Ore why China is not a market economy and as such, should not be granted Market Economy Status. He also calls for a full and comprehensive impact assessment. Read the full article here (in Italian).

29 January 2016 / Reuters reports on a European Commission document estimating between 63,600 and 211,000 EU job losses if China were granted MES without mitigating measures. This is a contrast to EPI's findings of 1.7 to 3.5 million EU jobs at risk. As explained in the article, this is because the Commission's estimates were "artificially low, overestimating gains from low-priced imports, failing to factor in the extra jobs that would go in service sectors for every manufacturing job lost and ignoring the deterrent effect the threat of anti-dumping duties had on all Chinese producers." The European Commission must conduct a full impact assessment, including a broad and public consultation, to weigh all options. Read the full article here.

28 January 2016 / The European Parliament's INTA Committee held a hearing on China's Market Economy Status with guest speakers including Professor Robert Scott, author of the EPI study that found that between 1.7 and 3.5 million EU jobs would be at risk if the EU granted China MES unilaterally. Programme | Watch the full debate

14 January 2016 / BUSINESSEUROPE issues a press release following the Commissioners' orientation debate on China's MES. Markus J. Beyrer, Director General of BUSINESSEUROPE, calls for a full impact assessment involving the business community and major trading partners. Read it in full here.

14 January 2016 / The front page of IlSole24Ore's English edition features this article on the truly significant impact that a decision on China's market economy status would have. Journalist Adriana Cerretelli recommends, "When in doubt, it’s better to proceed with caution. Europe is the old economic giant, which already grows less than others globally, hit by an existential crisis with an unknown outcome. In these conditions, instead of strengthening it, a new Chinese electroshock would badly knock it down—especially if, with the anti-dumping defense fallen, the Beijing market economy remained fiction." Read it in full here.

14 January 2016 / Il Sole 24 Ore covers the Commission's statements following the orientation debate on MES in both English and Italian. The article quotes the Commission in saying that the decision will be "carefully assessed" as a decision to grant China market economy status, thereby impacting the method used to calculate anti-dumping duties, “would have an impact on the European economy.” Read the article in English or in Italian.