“Without delaying the full use of the existing set of instruments, we need a comprehensive framework to complement our toolbox with new legal instruments — in a lean and non-bureaucratic way,” they wrote.
The leaders of the EU’s two largest economies want a new tool that would empower Brussels to exclude imports from certain countries.
The proposal arrives before Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič flies to Beijing for talks on Thursday, the final round of a four-month process in which Brussels hopes to rebalance its trading relationship with China.
The Anti-Coercion Instrument, also known as the EU’s trade “bazooka,” in theory gives the Commission enormous powers to restrict imports in response to actions that are considered economic coercion.
But in practice, activating it would require months of investigation and the support of a qualified majority of EU governments. Divisions among capitals have previously complicated efforts to agree on trade measures targeting China.
The new instrument would make it much harder for member countries to block swift action. Commission measures would stand unless a “reverse” qualified majority of countries voted to block them, a senior German official explained.