France, Germany call for new weapon allowing ‘immediate cut off’ of China from EU market

In the strongest sign yet of a shifting European Union policy on China, the leaders of France and Germany have demanded a new trade weapon that would cut off access to the EU market when third countries cause severe distortions.

The tool would effectively act as a kill switch, allowing Brussels to respond rapidly to systemic distortions, potentially immediately. It would grant dramatic new powers to the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, which manages trade policy for the 27-member union.