World news | The Guardian
· collected 2026-09-06 · by Lisa O’Carroll Senior correspondent
Industry trade body Eurometal warns that 300,000 factory jobs in the EU will be lost this year due to increasing competition from Chinese component manufacturers. The EU's record €1 billion-a-day trade deficit with China is a major concern for European manufacturers, who claim that Brussels is not doing enough to address the issue. Eurometal president Alexander Julius argues that China's five-year plan to dominate global supply chains is having a devastating impact on European industry, and calls on the commission to take action to stop the "colonisation" of EU manufacturing. The trade body will stage a protest in Brussels on Monday using symbolic coffins marked with phrases such as "EU competitiveness" and "industrial jobs".
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
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same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The European Union is facing a potential loss of 300,000 factory jobs due to increased competition from Chinese manufacturers, according to Eurometal, a leading industry trade body. China's expansion into EU markets has resulted in a record daily trade surplus of €1 billion, and Eurometal warns that the EU's own competitiveness is being eroded as Chinese companies gain control over key supply chains. The president of Eurometal, Alexander Julius, claims that this is part of China's deliberate strategy to dominate industries and become a finished product supplier rather than just a raw material provider. To raise awareness about the issue, Eurometal will stage a protest in Brussels on Monday, featuring 10 symbolic coffins marked with phrases like "EU competitiveness" and "industrial jobs". The protest aims to bring the concerns of European manufacturers to decision-makers at the European Commission headquarters. China's expansion into EU markets has been described as a form of "colonisation", highlighting the industry's fears that the EU is not fully addressing the issue.
Written for “EU-China Trade Dispute Impact” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Job losses in EU manufacturing will rapidly increase unless Brussels stops the “colonisation” of industry by Chinese component manufacturers, a leading industry trade body has warned.
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body → increase → manufacturers
Eurometal predicts 300,000 job losses in manufacturing in the rest of 2026 because of expanding competition from China, which is now enjoying a record €1bn-a-day trade surplus with the bloc.
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which → predict → bloc
On Monday, Eurometal will bring its concerns to decision-makers in Brussels, staging a protest using 10 symbolic coffins in a procession around the European Commission headquarters.
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Eurometal → bring → headquarters
The coffins will be marked with phrases such as “EU competitiveness”, “industrial jobs” and “European factories”.
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coffins → mark → competitiveness
European manufacturers fear that the commission is not fully alive to the cannibalisation of their industries as China becomes embedded in supply chains through the sale of components.
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China → fear → components
Alexander Julius, the president of Eurometal, told the Guardian: “China has made no secret of what it is doing.
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it → tell → what
“China doesn’t want to be a raw material supplier, it wants to be a finished product supply.
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it → want → ?
They want to be in key product supply chains because they know that once they control the supply chain, they own the complete value chain.”
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they → want → chain
He wants the commission to understand fully the impact of Chinese exports at component level, including metals and chemicals used in 90% of manufacturing.
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commission → want → manufacturing
The EU has already taken action on electric vehicles by imposing tariffs on Chinese imports in 2024, and in June introduced higher tariffs on imports of foreign steel.
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EU → take → steel
The bloc’s trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, has also said the EU’s €360bn (£310bn) annual import/export imbalance with China is “not sustainable”, with both sides agreeing to hold three months of talks, ending in October, to try to avert a trade war.
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sides → say → war
“You look at the job losses stacking up in industries in places like Germany.
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You → look → Germany
The media, the politicians can see the consequences, but they don’t go after the virus that is causing it,” Julius said.
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Julius → see → it
“They don’t see why it is happening or ask why companies are either relocating to China or India or going bust.
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companies → see → China
Among the conditions allowing the “virus” to spread is the increasing costs borne by European metal manufacturers with tariffs on steel imports and carbon emissions taxes for those high-energy sectors.
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costs → allow → sectors
Components manufactured in China face none of those levies, said Julius, and that, combined with the undervaluation of the Chinese currency, the yuan, makes it challenging to compete with Chinese rivals, he added.
Companies have to satisfy shareholders and will continue to buy from China, whatever the political rhetoric coming out of Brussels, he said.
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he → manufacture → Brussels
“When manufacturing leaves Europe, Europe not only loses production but investment, knowhow and long-term economic resilience,” Eurometal said ahead of the protest.
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Eurometal → leave → protest
Analysis by the European Commission in June projected potential job losses of more than 1m on the back of high energy costs and global competition, which will include the 100,000 job cuts at Volkswagen confirmed by the German carmaker last week.
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which → project → carmaker
China has repeatedly accused Europe of protectionism.
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China → accuse → protectionism
It threatened “resolute countermeasures should the EU further target Chinese companies or products”, according to the state-owned Xinhua agency earlier this year.
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EU → threaten → agency
Since then, the EU and China have agreed a three-month truce.
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EU → agree → truce
