{
  "id": 12556719,
  "title": "EU negotiators head to China hoping to curb cheap imports of hybrid electric cars",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/eu-negotiators-head-to-china-hoping-to-curb-cheap-imports-of-hybrid-12556719",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-07T04:00:34.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Business",
    "slug": "guardian-business",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/oct/07/eu-negotiators-head-to-china-hoping-to-curb-cheap-imports-of-hybrid-electric-cars"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "EU trade negotiators are set to travel to China for two days of critical talks aimed at addressing the country's record £1bn-a-day trade surplus through curbing the export of cheap hybrid electric cars to Europe. Lead negotiator, Maroš Šefčovič, and his team will be negotiating until the final moments of the talks, which are scheduled to commence the day after their departure and extend well into Friday. The priority is to achieve significant, impactful, and quantifiable outcomes before the upcoming EU summit in Brussels, where China will be a key issue. The negotiations center around a \"proof of concept\" pilot agreement centered around the car sector which could potentially be expanded to other industries in the months ahead. Diplomatic efforts to avert a major trade conflict began in late June, although the prospects of China curtailing its exports to the EU have been slim due to its history of swiftly changing trade policies when faced with barriers. Following the EU's imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in October 2024, there has been a surge in hybrid car exports, which were not subject to tariffs. In the past week, the EU urged China to limit hybrid vehicle exports voluntarily, threatening to implement safeguards such as quotas if they did not comply. While the Chinese response remains unknown, the atmosphere in the talks has shifted as EU member states have become more insistent on protecting their industries from the flood of Chinese imports. Germany's Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, recently made a significant about-face in his stance on China, aligning with French President Emmanuel Macron to enable EU leaders to approve a new instrument for safeguarding trade through the immediate reduction of market access if necessary. The joint statement from Germany and France emphasizes the \"massive industrial shock\" faced by sectors crucial to the European industrial model such as pharmaceuticals, aerospace, automotive, machine tools, chemicals, and more. The pair advocate for the use of existing trade defense tools, alongside a new diversification instrument and potential additional measures to counter the efforts of third countries aiming to undermine the restoration of fair competition. Former EU adviser on China, Andrew Small, predicts Šefčovič's negotiations will put the resolve of both Beijing and Brussels to the test, assessing whether China is prepared to put forth serious proposals. Small, who serves as the Asia director at the European Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin, warns that China's most potent strategy may be to entice Europe into a 'process trap,' offering just enough concessions to delay decisive action without tackling the underlying factors contributing to European deindustrialization. Recent reports suggest that the Franco-German push for a \"kill switch\" instrument, intended to counteract trade abuses, was driven by frustration, particularly in France, over the lack of use of a more potent tool named the anti-coercion instrument (ACI). This tool, which has remained unused since being introduced, could take up to a year to implement. The German business newspaper Handlesblatt characterized the shift in Germany's China policy as an \"economic turning point,\" with chief political reporter Martin Greive asserting that Merz has effectively ended years of misguided approaches towards China, recognizing that the country is now the center of a new wave of economic challenges brought on by China's substantial subsidies, the illicit acquisition of proprietary knowledge, and questionable fiscal policies.",
  "summary": "Mood in trade talks said to have changed as EU member states harden demands for protection against Chinese imports EU trade negotiators are heading to China for two days of crunch talks aimed at sealing a breakthrough deal tackling Beijing’s record £1bn-a-day trade surplus by curbing its exports of cheap hybrid electric cars into Europe. Trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and his team fly out on…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Guardian",
        "title": "EU negotiators head to China hoping to curb cheap imports of hybrid electric cars",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/eu-negotiators-head-to-china-hoping-to-curb-cheap-imports-of-hybrid",
        "published": "2026-10-07T04:00:34.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}