Commentary: Europe Can’t Tariff Away Its China Trade Deficit

The trade relationship between China and the European Union is undergoing a profound and irreversible transformation.

For years, policymakers in Brussels have treated the widening trade imbalance with Beijing as a temporary anomaly exacerbated by pandemic-era supply chain disruptions and the energy shocks following the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

But as we approach the end of 2026, the data reveals a harder truth: the ballooning European trade deficit is a structural reality driven by a fundamental shift in manufacturing competitiveness.