Macron Calls for Stronger European Trade Defenses, Investment

(MENAFN) French President Emmanuel Macron urged European countries on Wednesday to reinforce trade protection measures and expand investment, cautioning that reliance on China and fossil fuels could undermine the region’s industrial strength and economic competitiveness.

During remarks in Spain, Macron outlined the need for Europe to accelerate innovation, reduce regulatory complexity, improve access to financing and safeguard domestic manufacturers against what he described as unfair international competition.

“China has completely flooded the European market. For decades, we told ourselves: ‘Wonderful, China is a huge market for us Europeans. We need China.’ That is true. We transferred a great deal of technology, we sold a great deal, and we still do to some extent.”

He criticized Beijing’s economic practices, alleging that Chinese businesses receive substantial government support and benefit from dumping practices designed to drive competing companies out of the market.

“Today, as we speak, we Europeans run a trade deficit with China of €1 billion every day.”

Macron also advocated speeding up European Commission investigations into trade practices, strengthening the bloc’s defensive trade mechanisms and introducing stricter requirements to ensure imported goods comply with the same standards applied to European manufacturers.

Addressing energy policy, he cautioned that efforts to reduce carbon emissions had not fully resolved Europe’s exposure to external energy dependencies.

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