17 March 2016 / Opened quietly in February, the European Commission’s ‘Public online consultation concerning a possible change in the methodology to establish dumping in trade defence investigations concerning the People’s Republic of China’ does not help ensure open debate about one of the most important issues facing European industry: the granting of Market Economy Status (MES) to China.

16 March 2016 / A group of leading U.S. manufacturing associations today announced the formation of a new coalition, Manufacturers for Trade Enforcement, to oppose China’s designation as a market economy at the end of 2016.

15 March 2016 / Today a group of MEPs announced the launch of a "counter-public consultation" on the Market Economy Status of China. The European Commission opened a public consultation on 10 February but it does not contain any space to provide free-form answers and is currently only available in English. By contrast, the counter-public consultation includes open-ended questions and is available in five languages.

14 March 2016 / The Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament have adopted a position paper with demands and proposals to ensure fair conditions are upheld in the European Union's trade policy towards China. The group also calls for a strategy to engage the EU's partners in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to make sure that China is not granted full 'market economy' status before it actually complies with the rules.

2 March 2016 / On 2 March the EPP Group organised a discussion in the European Parliament in Brussels with EPP MEPs from both the INTA and ITRE Committees and stakeholder representatives on the possibility and consequences of granting China Market Economy Status (MES).

27 February 2016 / The Economist reports on China's oversupply, and the fact that its huge exports of industrial goods are "flooding markets everywhere, contributing to deflationary pressures and threatening producers worldwide". The article dissuades China from exporting its overcapacity as "the flood of cheap goods onto foreign markets has already exacerbated trade frictions", as exemplified by the protest in Brussels on 15 February for free and fair trade and against granting China Market Economy Status. Read the article here (subscriber-only).

22 February 2016 / Both US Presidential hopefuls campaigning for the Democratic nomination warn against closer trade relations with China. On his campaign website, Bernie Sanders states his firm belief that “current trade relations with China are detrimental to job growth” in the US and highlights that “a growing trade deficit with China has led to the loss of over 2 million US manufacturing jobs since 2001”. In this recent article, Hillary Clinton explains that she is opposed to granting market economy status to China because “if they get market economy status, it would defang our anti-dumping laws and let cheap products flood into our markets. (…) China is far from a market economy. If China wants to be treated like a market economy, it needs to act like one.”

22 February 2016 / The New York Times reports, "The failure of Chinese leaders to tackle the problem of excess industrial production has intensified an economic slowdown in the country and threatens to wreak havoc on global markets, [the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China] said in a new report on Monday. (...) “Without a sustained effort to address it now, overcapacity may well seriously impede the effectiveness of China’s economic reform agenda,” said Joerg Wuttke, president of the chamber." Read the full article here.

22 February 2016 / The Financial Times' Lucy Hornby reports on the European Chamber of Commerce in Beijing's warning that "China’s crushing overcapacity risks inflaming trade tensions as well as swamping the country’s companies with debt". Jörg Wuttke, president of the European Chamber, told reporters in Beijing that China "can’t outgrow this problem any more” and that “politicians need to realise that [Chinese] overcapacity leads to job losses, which leads to protectionism in Europe.” Read the article here (subscriber only).

22 February 2016 / Deutsche Welle (DW) writes about a report recently released by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China which warns that Chinese overcapacity is preventing the country's economic reform and damaging its trade relations. The EU industry is notably impacted, as visibly demonstrated in a march attended by 5,000 employers and employees on 15 February in Brussels. Read the full article here.

22 February 2016 / Reuters covers the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China's report on Chinese overcapacity, which "has got much worse since 2009, with Beijing struggling to implement reforms and overcome the resistance of growth-obsessed local governments". Read the full article here.

21 February 2016 / The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China called for Beijing to ramp up efforts to tackle excess production. This overproduction is harming eight key industries including steel, cement and chemicals, but is having knock-on effects in consumer sectors such as consumer electronics, pharmaceuticals, food and apparel. Journalist Laurie Burkitt highlights the industry march in Brussels to protest granting Market Economy Status (MES) to China, which would only worsen the situation. Read the article here (subscriber only).

21 February 2016 / The Washington Post reports that, “China’s industrial overcapacity is “sucking the oxygen out” of its economy, fueling a dangerous buildup in bad loans and now exacerbating trade tensions with the West. Yet although the Communist Party has been aware of the problem for years, it has failed to tackle it. Those are the findings of a new report by the European Chamber of Commerce in China that blames complacency, a lack of leadership and protectionism by local governments for China’s failure to address the problem. (...) The answer, [Chamber president Jörg Wuttke] said, was for the Chinese government to relinquish control of the economy to market forces, as it has promised to do." Read the full article here.

18 February 2016 / In einer gemeinsamen Erklärung zur Industriepolitik haben sich heute die deutschen Verbände und Gewerkschaften, darunter BDI, BDA und DGB, in der Diskussion um Chinas Marktwirtschaftsstatus (Market Economy Status/MES) zu Wort gemeldet.

18 February 2016 / In a joint statement on industrial policy released today, German associations and unions, including BDI, BDA and DGB, have made their position clear on China's market economy status (MES). 

15 February 2016 / Aus 17 europäischen Ländern sind heute über 5.000 Arbeiter und Unternehmensvertreter nach Brüssel gereist, um gegen chinesisches Dumping zu demonstrieren. Der Protest richtet sich vor allem gegen das Vorhaben der Europäischen Kommission, China den sogenannten Marktwirtschaftsstatus zu gewähren ("MES - Market Economy Status") und damit wirksame Antidumpingmaßnahmen zukünftig unmöglich zu machen. Das Industriebündnis AEGIS Europe, das 30 europäische Industrieverbände vertritt, hatte zur Demonstration aufgerufen.

15 febbraio 2016 / 5.000 lavoratori di 17 nazioni europee manfesteranno oggi a Brussels per esortare i leader europei a cessare il dumping e negare alla Cina lo Statuto di Economia di Mercato (MES).

15 February 2016 / 5,000 workers from 17 European countries march on Brussels today to urge EU leaders to stop China dumping and reject Market Economy Status (MES) for China.

11 February 2016 / If you care about jobs and growth in Europe, or the environment, then you should be concerned by the idea of the EU granting Market Economy Status (MES) to China. AEGIS Europe is calling on European trade unions, businesses and NGOs to respond urgently to the European Commission’s new public consultation on China’s MES issued yesterday on 10 February.

11 February 2016 / Today, 30 European industries represented by AEGIS Europe called on European unions, businesses and NGOs to respond urgently to the European Commission’s new public consultation into the Market Economy Status (MES) of China.