EU targets Chinese plastic exports as Brussels widens drive to counter ‘unfair’ trade practices

The European Union is about to impose extra charges on certain Chinese plastics, accusing China of unfair trading. These charges, known as anti-dumping duties, will range from 6. 6% to 24. 2% on imports of a plastic called polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is commonly used for making plastic bottles. The EU's investigation, which started in March after a complaint, found that the influx of cheap Chinese PET is a threat to European businesses.

The EU is also probing into whether China is unfairly subsidizing its electric vehicle industry. The amount of PET plastic coming from China to Europe has increased a lot, which could strain the already delicate EU-China relations. The EU is working on a strategy to protect its economy, which includes controlling investments in sensitive high-tech sectors. They want to avoid situations like the one where the US asked the Netherlands to stop selling certain tech to China.

The EU is trying to convince its member states that it's important to protect their economy, even though some countries are not sure about giving more power to the EU. They are also worried about becoming too protective and hurting their own economy. The EU fears that China's slow economy will lead to Europe being flooded with cheap products. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has warned that this could put pressure on global competitors. China, on the other hand, has criticized the EU's actions as protectionism and wants to keep strong trade ties. China's President Xi Jinping has asked France to help maintain a positive relationship between China and the EU.