Plastics closest to new EU safeguards, Šefčovič says

EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said on Friday that the plastics sector is the closest to possible new safeguard measures against surging imports, with the Commission assessing the legal and economic requirements for opening proceedings.

Why it matters: A plastics safeguard would extend the EU's trade defence against Chinese industrial overcapacity beyond the October hybrid vehicle deal, into a sector where European producers have pressed for protection.

Data as of October 23, 2026, 14:37 ET: MLex insight of October 23, 2026 for the plastics remark, the only source reporting it so far, so this item is single-sourced on that point; the remarks were delivered at the European Commission press conference following the informal Foreign Affairs Council (Trade) in Dublin, and Euronews reporting of October 23, 2026, read in full, for the wider China rebalancing context. Šefčovič did not specify which products could be covered or when an investigation might begin. Developing item.

The EU’s plastics sector is the closest to possible new safeguard measures against surging imports, Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said on Friday after the informal meeting of trade ministers in Dublin, adding that the European Commission was assessing the legal and economic requirements for opening proceedings without specifying which products could be covered or when an investigation might begin.

The comment came as Brussels weighs further measures against Chinese industrial overcapacity, following the deal reached with Beijing on October 9 to curb imports of hybrid vehicles through country-specific quotas. Speaking after the ministers’ meeting, Šefčovič said the EU was walking a tightrope in negotiations with Beijing, that whole sectors were under threat, and that rebalancing trade would require a political approach alongside traditional trade techniques, Euronews reported.

Plastics closest to new EU safeguards, Šefčovič says

Sources