BRUSSELS — European Union leaders convened in Brussels from June 18-19 to address various economic and geopolitical issues. The summit's agenda included discussions on the bloc's long-term budget, regional conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and global trade frictions.

During their discussions, EU leaders specifically addressed global macroeconomic imbalances. They called for an evaluation of the EU's trade defense toolkit to design new regulatory instruments. The leaders also instructed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to maintain dialogue with key economic counterparts.

The final conclusions from the European Council summit did not explicitly name China. However, the EU is currently investigating tire imports from China. The EU maintains a 79 percent tariff on Chinese ceramics, while Beijing has initiated targeted anti-dumping investigations and duties on European pork, dairy, and brandy. The import tariffs on these European goods in China range from 4.9 percent to 34.9 percent.

The EU's proposed Industrial Accelerator Act aims to protect strategic European sectors. Additionally, an upcoming revision of the Cybersecurity Act seeks to restrict "high-risk" vendors from EU telecommunications networks. The EU is also tightening export controls on dual-use goods, intended to prevent European technology from reaching Russia's military economy through Chinese intermediaries.

China has implemented its own measures, including the Provisions on Industrial and Supply Chain Security, which allow China to penalize foreign firms that discriminate against Chinese supply chains. The Provisions on Countering Foreign Unlawful Extraterritorial Jurisdiction empower China's Ministry of Justice to block domestic entities from complying with foreign probes. This provision was utilized to halt cooperation with the EU's Foreign Subsidies Regulation investigation into Nuctech. China also has export restrictions on rare earth elements and permanent magnets.