The 2023 EU Trade Defence Activities Report, adopted today, highlights the crucial role of trade defence tools in protecting EU jobs and promoting fairness. By the end of 2023, the EU had 182 trade defence measures in place, a 40% increase from 2018. These measures led to a significant increase in the number of EU jobs protected, rising from 365,000 in 2018 to almost 500,000 by the end of 2023. The report also highlights the need for action to safeguard green tech sectors from unfair trade. It emphasises the Commission’s efforts to defend the EU industry from unfair defensive actions launched by third countries, ensuring continued access to third-country markets.
“Defending the EU industry against unfair trading practices and ensuring a level playing field is critical for the EU’s competitiveness. Despite geopolitical tensions and broader challenges, the EU remains one of the world’s most open markets. This openness, however, is not to be taken for granted. We will not hesitate to take action when rules-based trade is being undermined. The significant increase in our trade defence activity during this mandate is a testament to that,” stated Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Trade.
Helping SMEs tackle unfair competition
Throughout 2023, the Commission prioritised and stepped up action to help SMEs tackle unfair competition from dumped and subsidised imports. This included setting up a helpdesk and a dedicated webpage, providing practical assistance in investigations and detailed guidance, and offering information and training programmes. The report also highlighted manufacturing sectors in the EU with a high proportion of SMEs that successfully use and benefit from the EU’s trade defence measures, including the ceramics, bicycle, and trout industries.
Proper enforcement is crucial to the effectiveness of measures
The Commission must ensure the effectiveness of trade defence measures as it focuses on addressing increasingly complex circumvention practices. This involves better monitoring existing trade defence measures and taking effective action against third countries’ evolving circumvention practices. Currently, more than one-fifth of trade measures specifically target evasion by economic operators. In 2023, four out of twelve new investigations were conducted into suspected circumvention cases, leading to the extension of measures to other third countries. Additionally, two existing measures were expanded to address transhipment practices. An anti-absorption investigation was also carried out, resulting in a significant increase in the original duties imposed by the EU to address producers who lower their prices to ‘absorb’ the imposed duties.
