Handelsblatt: The EU wants to punish China with severe sanctions for the export blockade.
The heads of state and government of the European Union gathered to authorize the European Commission to take countermeasures against the export blockade from China. This was reported by the Handelsblatt publication.
The reason for such harsh measures is the growing disruptions in the supply of critically important raw materials from China. Additionally, China is blocking the export of the chip manufacturer Nexperia to Europe. As a result, German industrial companies have already warned of the risk of production halts. For instance, Volkswagen's chip supplies were already running low, but disruptions were avoided thanks to an alternative supplier.
As stated by European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis, if the situation does not improve, Brussels will introduce retaliatory measures.
It is emphasized that, despite repeated signals from Beijing about lifting restrictions on European companies, in practice, nothing is changing. Several governments of EU countries have called for the activation of the so-called "Anti-Coercion Instrument," which allows the EU to respond to economic blackmail with tough counter-sanctions. In turn, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has already warned the Chinese authorities against escalation.
