EU sets simplification and trade defence agenda for European industry

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EU sets industry agenda

Highlights

European Commission targets a 25% reduction in administrative burdens for all companies and 35% for SMEs by 2029, aiming for EUR 17 billion in annual savings via 12 Omnibus packages.
EU trade deficit with China now approaches EUR 1 billion daily, rising 10% at the start of 2024, as Chinese imports rise 45% over five years while EU exports decline.
The EU opened over 30 new trade defence investigations in the past year—almost triple the historical average—protecting more than 600,000 European jobs amid rising reliance on China for critical raw materials.

Competitiveness plan for business investment

As reported by European Commission, citing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the annual conference La Rencontre des Entrepreneurs de France 2026, the EU wants to give companies more room to invest in the short term while making innovation, productivity and scaling-up the longer-term engines of growth. She says the bloc’s previous economic assumptions, including cheap imported energy, open global trade and easy access to major markets, have weakened, increasing the cost of turning Europe’s strengths into production and expansion.

Von der Leyen says the Commission is targeting a 25% cut in administrative burdens for all companies and a 35% reduction for SMEs by 2029. She says 12 Omnibus packages are expected to deliver about EUR 17 billion in annual savings, with six already agreed and accounting for EUR 6 billion. The broader review of EU law is aimed at removing duplication, cutting reporting obligations, speeding up permitting and designing simpler rules from the start, while also urging member states to avoid adding extra national requirements.

She frames the push as part of a wider effort to make Europe a continent that produces, invests and protects. France, she says, has played a major role in shaping that shift through its positions on industrial policy, nuclear energy, electrification and artificial intelligence.

China trade imbalance drives tougher enforcement

Von der Leyen says simplification inside Europe must be matched by fairer conditions in competition with foreign rivals, with China a central focus. She describes China as a key economic partner but says partnership cannot mean accepting lasting imbalances, as Chinese companies in some cases receive subsidies far above those available to comparable OECD firms.

She says Chinese imports into the EU have risen 45% over five years while European exports to China are falling, pushing the bloc’s trade deficit with China to nearly EUR 1 billion a day. At the start of this year, that deficit rises by another 10%, and for the first time all EU member states run a trade deficit with China, according to the speech.

Von der Leyen also highlights supply chain dependence, saying the EU relies on China for more than 80% of many critical raw materials and 90% of some rare earths. She says the Commission remains open to dialogue but is prepared to use trade instruments when needed, noting that more than 30 new trade defence investigations are opened last year, almost three times the historical average, with existing measures protecting more than 600,000 European jobs.

Our earlier coverage of the Trump administration’s proposed semiconductor tariffs explained that Washington was considering duties not only on chips but also on chip-containing products such as laptops and data-center servers. We noted that the framework could tie tariff relief for foreign firms to their investment in U.S. chip manufacturing, signaling a broader effort to reshore supply-chain capacity and use trade tools to support domestic production.

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