Europe should use “all the tools” it can leverage to “defend its interests” and tackle aggressive foreign trade practices that threaten its industry, France’s EU Affairs Minister Benjamin Haddad has told Euronews.
His comments come as the EU mulls a clampdown on a glut of Chinese imports.
“A commitment to international trade law — it’s important. But you have to be strong and to be respected,” Haddad said on Euronews’ interview programme, 12 Minutes With.
“You have to be able to defend your interest and use all the tools that you can leverage, especially to impose the very basic principles of fairness and reciprocity.”
Asked if Europe had been too slow in its response to the eroding of international trade rules, Haddad said, “Yes, I think so, because I think that we (Europeans) are still sometimes the last evangelists of a religion that no one is practising anymore.
“You know, the religion of unfettered free trade of the WTO (World Trade Organization), which clearly China and the US have abandoned a long time ago.”
On Friday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s team will gather to debate harsher measures in response to a raft of Chinese trade practices that risk cannibalising Europe’s industry and market.
The conversation is expected to continue when EU leaders gather in Brussels for a summit in mid-June.
Ahead of that debate, five EU countries, which include France, Italy and Spain, have urged the EU executive to consider using tariffs and other measures to protect the bloc from foreign trade practices, without naming China.
Concern over Beijing’s industrial over-capacity, heavy-handed use of state subsidies, and chokehold on critical raw materials has been mounting.
China is increasingly dominating strategic industries, from raw materials to tech, which allows it to consolidate political leverage over competitors.
But the EU has been slow to coalesce around a common position, with some countries such as Germany reluctant to clamp down on Beijing over fears it could jeopardise the trading relationship.
Let’s ‘not be naive’
Asked whether Germany was gradually coming closer to the French position, Minister Haddad said, “There’s a realisation that’s coming across everywhere in Europe, that for a long time we thought it was safe to export to China. And now we see, on the contrary, that (…) technological know-how is increasing in China with the support of the state.”
“We have a strong single EU market; there’s every reason to be optimistic about the power that a single market can represent, but only if we’re able to leverage it. And we have all the tools at our disposal (…) So now the key is not to be naive, look at what others are doing and protect ourselves as well.”
A recent study suggested that German industry had seen as many as 124,000 jobs wiped out in 2025, with the automotive sector hardest hit, amid not only tough foreign competition, but also weak demand and spiralling energy costs.
In February, French President Emmanuel Macron vowed a reset of the EU’s economic doctrine by June, adding that more joint borrowing at the EU level should be an integral part of that plan.
But the war in Iran and effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz have since sent ripple effects throughout the global economy, threatening to sideline Europe’s competitiveness push.
EU countries traditionally dubbed the “frugal” group are also vehemently opposed to raising common debt while fiscal space is so limited, and governments are already seeing soaring debt and deficit levels.
Yet Haddad championed joint borrowing as the only solution to regain Europe’s competitive edge.
“There’s actually a lot of demand on markets for assets coming from the European Union, which is a reliable, trusted financial partner,” he said.
“And I think when you look at areas like defence, like space or like AI, where we’re under-investing, we’re under-leveraged compared to the US, this is where it would make sense indeed to once again borrow on the markets and inject investment massively to support our own innovators, our own companies.”
He also acknowledged that a group of like-minded countries willing to raise debt collectively on the market could move together without necessarily securing the backing of all 27 member states.
“I think when you have a core group of member states that want to move forward, and that want to deepen their integration and cooperation on these issues, then, at some point, we should be able to move forward and create momentum for others to join.”
You can watch the full interview with the French Minister for EU Affairs, Benjamin Haddad, on Wednesday, 27 May at 17.45 CET, on Euronews.