The European Commission is concerned that sustained increases in imports—many from China and arriving at lower prices—could put pressure on EU producers. On 1 October 2026, the Commission’s chief trade enforcement officer said its import-monitoring results showed potentially worrying trends for almost a quarter of EU imports. That is a warning signal for further assessment, not a finding that those imports are illegal or that tariffs have been imposed.
What the EU official said about imports from China
Denis Redonnet, the European Commission’s chief trade enforcement officer, told the European Parliament’s trade committee that China and Chinese-origin goods were the main driver of the import increases flagged by the Commission’s surveillance system. Reuters reported that machinery, textiles, basic metals and chemicals were among the sectors with sustained and abnormal import growth. Redonnet described the trends as potentially worrying; that characterization does not establish that every import in those sectors is unfair or harmful. Reuters reported the remarks on 1 October 2026.
The reported “almost a quarter” figure is not a stated share of imports proven to break trade rules. The available account does not specify the exact denominator or list the product codes included in that result, so it should be read as an attributed summary of a monitoring signal—not a precise measure of China’s share of EU imports.
What the EU import barometer measures
The Commission reworked its monitoring approach in 2026 to look for longer-term, sustained import increases at decreasing prices. The concern is that industrial overcapacity and lower-priced imports could affect production in the EU. The barometer uses Eurostat data to identify product codes for further assessment and to inform possible targeted, proportionate and timely protection. It does not impose tariffs or, by itself, prove dumping, subsidisation or another trade-rule violation. The Commission describes the import-surveillance approach.
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How the product-level screening works
The Commission’s FAQ says the monitoring examines 8-digit Combined Nomenclature codes (CN8). It calculates unit values by dividing import value by net mass, then looks for the relevant longer-term pattern of rising imports and falling unit values. The results are published quarterly because the system is intended to track sustained trends rather than react to every short-term fluctuation.
The Commission says it uses Eurostat data because they are cleaned and harmonised. Surveillance data may be more recent, but can be preliminary and contain errors. A code flagged by the barometer is a prompt for further understanding and assessment; information from affected industries can add context about whether imports are causing injury. The Commission’s import-surveillance FAQ explains the data and methodology.
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How the headline figure differs from other trade statistics
The “almost a quarter” finding, the value of imports from China and China’s share of EU imports answer different questions. One is a reported monitoring result; the others describe trade values or shares over specified periods. They should not be treated as interchangeable.
| Measure | Figure | What it describes |
|---|---|---|
| Imports with potentially worrying barometer trends | Almost a quarter | Redonnet’s description of the Commission’s monitoring results, reported by Reuters on 1 October 2026. The exact denominator and flagged codes were not specified in the report. |
| Total EU imports | €2.53 trillion | EU imports in 2025, as reported by Reuters. |
| EU imports from China | €571 billion | EU imports from China in 2025, as reported by Reuters. |
| EU goods trade deficit with China | €360 billion | The EU goods trade deficit with China in 2025, as reported by Reuters. |
| China’s share of extra-EU goods imports | €153.6 billion; 21.9% | China was the EU’s largest supplier in the second quarter of 2026; Eurostat published the figure on 26 August 2026. |
| Year-over-year change in EU imports from China | +7.9% | Second-quarter 2026 compared with second-quarter 2025, according to Eurostat. This is a quarter-on-quarter-year comparison, not the barometer’s product-level test. |
The annual totals and deficit were reported by Reuters; the quarterly supplier share and change were published by Eurostat. Eurostat’s 21.9% figure is China’s share of extra-EU goods imports in Q2 2026. It is not the same statistic as the barometer’s “almost a quarter” result.
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What may happen next—and what has not happened automatically
A monitoring flag can help the Commission decide whether a closer assessment or a formal trade-defence case is warranted. It is not itself a trade remedy. Reuters reported that the EU opened 32 new trade-defence cases in 2025, compared with 33 in 2024 and a historical annual average of 12; more than a third of the new 2025 investigations involved chemicals. Redonnet reportedly said 27 new cases had opened by 1 October 2026. These are figures reported by Reuters, not independently verified here against the Commission’s case register. Reuters’ 1 October report also said Brussels was seeking some form of Chinese export management that month; that was a reported negotiating aim, not an agreed outcome.
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