The European Union is creating a new surveillance tool to help combat trade diversion and protect European markets and industries while also establishing a trade dialogue with China.
The new tool should help prevent possible disruptive market movements. Trade diversion happens when a significant amount of goods circumvent normal customs and find another way to enter the EU market, creating disruption for local industries that suddenly have to compete with cheaper and unregulated products.
Commenting on the new system, Maroš Šefčovič, Commissioner for Trade, said: “With this new import surveillance tool, we are boosting our capacity to protect our own interests and stop surges in imports diverted to our market.”
As part of the process to better protect European markets, the Commission is going to have a more proactive approach with China and will start talks on various trade practices in case there are possible trade diversions identified as coming from there.
The system created by the European Commission should make for swifty identification of suspect import surges and will also propose ways to tackle the issue. The tool is part of the Commission’s surveillance task force that works to prevent possible disruptive practices and operates to address the possible challenges. The task force is already operational and has developed an internal dashboard used in the bloc to identify products that may have been affected by trade diversion.
