Cefic has issued a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, calling for immediate reinforcement of the EU’s trade defence capacity. The letter urges the allocation of at least 20 additional full-time staff to Directorate G of DG TRADE—an essential step to ensure the Commission can respond swiftly and decisively to unfair trade practices.
No European site should be forced to close due to a lack of resources in DG TRADE. This is not optional—it is a strategic necessity.
Marco Mensink, Cefic Director General
The call comes at a time of rising global trade tensions, increasing market distortions and unfair trade practices that threaten European industries. Aiming to counter this worrisome trend, the European Commission initiated in 2024 more than twice as many new trade defence investigations as in any of the previous five years. However, this is putting significant extra pressure on the responsible Commission Services to handle these cases quickly and efficiently.
The European Commission is already taking proactive steps to deter trade diversion. Cefic welcomes the European Commission’s efforts to actively monitor potential trade diversions and is looking forward to working with the Commission to further refine these tools, as well as supporting the EU’s broader trade agenda.
Reinforcing the EU’s trade defence capacity is not just about protecting one sector—it’s about safeguarding Europe’s industrial resilience, competitiveness, and strategic autonomy. This must go hand in hand with building strong global partnerships. Rapid ratification of meaningful Free Trade Agreements—like the EU-Mercosur deal—and the development of new instruments such as Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships are essential to secure access to global growth markets and critical raw materials.