A coalition of 44 European industry organizations, including the European Steel Association (EUROFER), has called on EU member states to strengthen trade defense measures to address unfair trade practices, persistent global overcapacity and state-driven market distortions.
In a joint statement, the organizations warned that European upstream and downstream industries face increasing pressure from unfair competition and oversupply, while high energy costs are already weighing on their competitiveness.
The signatories pointed to the EU's goods trade deficit with China, which reached approximately €359.8 billion in 2025, equivalent to almost €1 billion per day. According to the organizations, this imbalance reflects broader structural distortions that weaken Europe's industrial base and increase strategic dependencies.
More effective use of antidumping, antisubsidy and safeguard measures sought
The coalition also urged the European Commission to make more effective use of existing trade defence instruments, including antidumping duties, antisubsidy measures and safeguards.
The organizations called for stronger action against circumvention practices, greater consideration of environmental and social costs when calculating dumping margins and duties, and a value-chain approach to addressing unfair trade practices.
At the same time, they stressed that trade defence measures should avoid negative impacts on closely integrated European value chains, particularly those involving the EU's trading partners such as Norway, Switzerland and the UK.
New policy tools proposed to address state-driven distortions
The other priority involves developing a new targeted policy framework to address state-driven distortions originating in third countries.
According to the joint statement, government-driven investment in production facilities outside the EU has contributed to additional volumes of underpriced exports entering the European market. The organizations therefore called for new policy instruments that would address these distortions while remaining consistent with the EU's international obligations and taking account of entire industrial value chains.
Alongside EUROFER, the signatories include European Metals, industriAll Europe, the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), European Aluminium, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA), and other organizations representing manufacturing and industrial sectors across Europe.
