More than 40 European industry organizations have joined forces to urge EU member states and the European Commission to enact stronger trade defense measures — aimed at protecting manufacturing, safeguarding jobs, and ensuring fair competition across the continent.
The joint statement brings together stakeholders from across the European manufacturing value chain, spanning textiles, chemicals, metals, automobile suppliers, and numerous other sectors. Their collective demand centers on decisive action against unfair trade practices, persistent global overcapacity, and market distortions driven by state subsidies.
A Unified Call Across Sectors
Euratex, the European Apparel and Textile Confederation, was among the prominent voices behind this initiative, stating that “ensuring fair competition is essential to maintaining a strong European textile and clothing industry, supporting quality employment and encouraging investment in European production.”
The organizations outlined three clear priorities for strengthening Europe’s capacity to respond to unfair international competition — and each speaks directly to growing concerns around industrial competitiveness and EU trade defense.
Boosting the European Commission’s Trade Defense Capacity
The first priority calls for additional human resources and specialized expertise within the Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security (DG Trade), with the explicit goal of accelerating investigations into unfair trade practices.
As Euratex noted, “Faster procedures would help European companies, particularly SMEs and mid-sized businesses, to access trade defense instruments more effectively.” The current pace of investigation is seen as a barrier for smaller players who lack the resources to absorb prolonged market pressures caused by underpriced imports.
Making Better Use of Existing Trade Defense Instruments
The second priority urges the EU to make fuller use of its existing toolkit — including anti-dumping measures, anti-subsidy rules, and safeguard mechanisms. The joint statement also calls for stronger action against circumvention practices, greater consideration of environmental and social costs, and a more comprehensive approach that protects entire industrial value chains rather than individual sectors in isolation.
Notably, the statement emphasized the importance of avoiding negative spillover effects on close European partners. “In light of the closely integrated value chains, it is crucial to avoid negative impacts between the EU and close European partners, such as Norway, Switzerland and the U.K.,” the statement noted, adding that “effective trade defense instruments serve to strengthen European competitiveness, safeguard industrial value chains and support quality jobs.”
Developing New Tools to Address Global Market Distortions
The third and perhaps most forward-looking priority calls on the EU to develop new, targeted policy tools capable of addressing the growing complexity of state-driven market distortions — something the organizations believe existing policies may no longer be adequate to handle.
The joint statement specifically referenced distortions linked to third-country investments in production facilities, which have fueled surges in underpriced exports entering EU markets. “The EU industry is paying the price of broad state-driven distortions from third countries and the increased investments by those countries in production facilities in third-country markets, which have contributed to additional surges in underpriced exports to the EU,” the statement said.
Euratex’s Long-Standing Concerns Over Import Pressures
Brussels-based Euratex has repeatedly warned that the European textiles industry is being adversely affected by imports from nations such as China. These concerns now have broader industry backing, with the joint statement reflecting growing alarm across multiple manufacturing sectors about the sustainability of Europe’s industrial base.
Following a pledge last month from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to rebalance fair trade, cut red tape, and strengthen industrial and strategic autonomy, Euratex called on the Commission to act without delay on those commitments.
Dirk Vantyghem, Director General of Euratex, underscored the urgency: “Europe cannot build a strong defense, lead the green and digital transitions, or protect its social model on a weakening industrial base. Competitiveness is not just one chapter of the European project — it is the foundation all the others are built on; when we get that right, everything else becomes possible.”
A Broader Industrial Imperative
Euratex made clear that EU trade defense is far from a textile-specific concern — it cuts across a wide range of sectors that together form the backbone of European industry. The organization stated it signed onto the joint statement precisely because strengthening industrial competitiveness for EU entities will benefit all European suppliers and manufacturers alike.
“Euratex supports a rules-based trading system that promotes open markets without allowing unfair practices to undermine European manufacturing,” the organization said. “The joint statement sends a clear message: Europe needs stronger, faster and more effective trade defense instruments to preserve its industrial base, protect employment and strengthen long-term economic resilience.”
The unified push from over 40 organizations marks one of the most coordinated industry-wide efforts in recent years to press EU institutions for meaningful reform of trade defense mechanisms — with industrial competitiveness and the fight against unfair trade practices firmly at its core.
