Bernd Lange, S&D MEP and chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee, said:
“The EU is facing geopolitical realities: the recent months and years have illustrated how trade policy is increasingly used as a political weapon. Such ruthless behaviour is completely unacceptable and the EU must be equipped with tools to defend its own interests. We now need to establish a comprehensive approach to what constitutes coercion and how the EU should respond to these aggressive acts. From investment restrictions to sanctions on intellectual property rights, we need a full toolbox. A rules-based multilateral trading order remains our priority, but we are nobody’s fool.”
