12 May 2016 / With an 83% overwhelming majority, the European Parliament today passed a Resolution against dumping and the granting of MES to China. The Resolution is an important signal that the EU will not grant MES so long as China fails to meet its WTO obligations.

11 May 2016 / The Financial Times argues that China needs to reform and meet its World Trade Organisation obligations, agreed to in 2001, if it is to enjoy the privileges associated with being granted market economy status (MES). The article states, "Beijing has been much keener to lobby for MES than to reform its own economy to attain it on merit. Most countries, reasonably enough, have concluded that China does not meet the criteria whereby its lending and production decisions are substantially made without state direction. [...] Whatever tactics the EU and US choose, they must try to nudge China further down the path to genuinely liberalising its economy, a journey on which it has made much less progress than it promised when it first joined the WTO." Read the full article here (subscriber only).

10 May 2016 / Following the debate this morning in the European Parliament, S&D Group president Gianni Pittella said, "The S&D Group is against granting Market Economy Status to China for a simple reason: China, despite the huge efforts it has made, is not yet a market economy. [...] Millions of jobs and a fundamental share of European GDP are at stake. [...] We don't want to be responsible for a historic mistake." Article originally published on the S&D website.

7 May 2016 / The Economist weighs in on the debate on China's market economy status (MES), which China argues should be granted automatically in December 2016. This argument is based on the expiry of a part of China's WTO Accession Protocol. And while the legal interpretation is under debate, everyone agrees that China remains a non-market economy. Although China agreed to market-oriented reforms in 2001, it fails to meet four out of the EU's five criteria for being considered a market economy. The Economist further warns that the US is unlikely to grant China MES, and should the EU decide differently, it would widen an "already worrying rift" in the transatlantic alliance. Read the article in full here.

3 May 2016 / MEP Marielle de Sarnez pens a convincing article for the Huffington Post arguing for the EU not only to deny China Market Economy Status but also to strengthen its trade defence instruments. She further highlights the need for a united EU to defend the interests of European citizens without yielding to the fear of retaliation. Read the article in full here (in French).

29 April 2016 / AEGIS Europe, the industry alliance uniting 30 European industry associations from steel and textiles to bicycles and ceramics, welcomes the statement made by Sigmar Gabriel, German Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs, against granting China Market Economy (MES) Status until it abides by the rules.

14 April 2016 / MEP Alessia Mosca (S&D, Italy) published an op-ed in EurActiv stating that "under current circumstances, it would be difficult- if not impossible- to grant MES, and this is due to the fact that price distortions do continue and that China did not comply with the political agreement which was an implicit and unavoidable step in order to be treated as a Market Economy." Read the full article here.

13 April 2016 / MEP Jongerius, Vice-Chair of the EP Employment Committee, wrote an opinion article for Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant arguing that as Chinese products, like steel, are heavily subsidised, the EU needs anti-dumping measures to ensure a level playing field. She concludes that for the sake of fair trade and fair competition, China should not be granted market economy status. Read full article here (in Dutch).

11 April 2016 / Around 45,000 German steelworkers and managers took to the streets in Duisburg to protest cheap steel imports from China. Sigmar Gabriel, German Economy Minister, addressed the crowd stating, "We have nothing against China getting market economy status but only if it behaves like a market economy." Read the full Deutsche Welle (DW) article here.

7 April 2016 / The European Parliament's Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) Committee held a discussion on the possible implications for EU industry of granting Market Economy Status (MES) to China. The debate was opened by ITRE Chair MEP Jerzy Buzek and introduced by DG Trade Director Leopoldo Rubinacci. A number of MEPs voiced their concerns regarding the impact of granting MES to China, a country that does not operate under market economy conditions. Mr Rubinacci then closed the debate by responding to the questions and comments raised by MEPs. Watch the full debate here (02:00-53:00).

5 April 2016 / The European Economic and Social Committee's Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (CCMI) organised a Public Hearing on “Granting Market Economy Status to China” on 5 April 2016 from 2:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The hearing was part of the preparation of an own-initiative opinion on the same subject. Ines Van Lierde conveyed AEGIS Europe's views as a speaker on the first panel. Further information is available on the EESC website.

5 April 2016 / In the context of the UK steel crisis, MEP David Martin recommends that the EU "be more cautious" when dealing with China. He continues, "Of course China is an important world player and greater economic cooperation can bring benefits to both sides. However, we must make sure our relations are based on a level playing field. [... This] means refusing to grant China what is called "Market Economy Status" (MES) at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) under the present circumstances. Doing so would further threaten the impact that our trade defence measures can have in protecting our industry and jobs from unfair competition." Read the full article here.

30 March 2016 / Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor of The Daily Telegraph, writes a compelling piece about the UK's relationship with China and its effects on the ongoing steel crisis. The article addresses the EU's deliberation on China's 'market economy status' (MES) and the report by the Economic Policy Institute which warns that unilateral MES for China would put almost all the EU's 350,000 steel jobs at risk. Evans-Pritchard concludes: "If this is correct, and if allowed to run its course,  Europe would be finished as an industrial and military region. It would be civilisational suicide." Read the full article here.

29 March 2016 / Robert A. Manning, senior fellow of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council, wrote a commentary on China's market economy status for the Nikkei Asian Review. He warns that granting this status to China "could cost several million jobs in Europe and the US" and quotes AEGIS Europe as saying, "Europe cannot grant Market Economy Status (MES) to a country that does not merit it." The article also takes a closer look at trans-Atlantic relations and the role of the G-7 in this debate. Read the full article here. A version of this article, entitled The China Market Status Dilemma, was published on Foreign Policy on 30 March. 

18 March 2016 / In a guest blog post on Euractiv, AEGIS Europe spokesperson Milan Nitzschke highlights that the European Commission's current options in the debate on China's MES lack an option offering "accurate implementation of WTO law by treating any economy as a market economy, only if it is a true market economy – and by treating any non-market economy as such – and for the period of time it remains so. (...) It is time that the European Commission reviews its options and presents a proposal that can be properly implemented, transparently communicated and based on the principles of a sustainable and long-term partnership with China." Read the full blog post here. 

17 March 2016 / Opened quietly in February, the European Commission’s ‘Public online consultation concerning a possible change in the methodology to establish dumping in trade defence investigations concerning the People’s Republic of China’ does not help ensure open debate about one of the most important issues facing European industry: the granting of Market Economy Status (MES) to China.

16 March 2016 / A group of leading U.S. manufacturing associations today announced the formation of a new coalition, Manufacturers for Trade Enforcement, to oppose China’s designation as a market economy at the end of 2016.

15 March 2016 / Today a group of MEPs announced the launch of a "counter-public consultation" on the Market Economy Status of China. The European Commission opened a public consultation on 10 February but it does not contain any space to provide free-form answers and is currently only available in English. By contrast, the counter-public consultation includes open-ended questions and is available in five languages.

14 March 2016 / The Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament have adopted a position paper with demands and proposals to ensure fair conditions are upheld in the European Union's trade policy towards China. The group also calls for a strategy to engage the EU's partners in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to make sure that China is not granted full 'market economy' status before it actually complies with the rules.

2 March 2016 / On 2 March the EPP Group organised a discussion in the European Parliament in Brussels with EPP MEPs from both the INTA and ITRE Committees and stakeholder representatives on the possibility and consequences of granting China Market Economy Status (MES).