Industry warns EU could lose 300,000 factory jobs this year as China 'colonises' supply chains
Trade body Eurometal warns that expanding Chinese influence over supply chains could cost the EU 300,000 manufacturing jobs in 2026, and will stage a coffin protest in Brussels on Monday.
Industry group Eurometal has warned that the growing presence of Chinese component manufacturers in EU supply chains could lead to roughly 300,000 job losses in European manufacturing before the end of the year. The organisation points to a record trade surplus China holds with the bloc, worth around €1bn a day.
On Monday, Eurometal plans to stage a protest outside the European Commission's Brussels headquarters, using ten symbolic coffins bearing messages such as "EU competitiveness", "industrial jobs" and "European factories".
Concerns over supply chain control
Eurometal president Alexander Julius said China's own five-year plan openly states its ambition to move beyond raw materials and dominate finished-product supply chains, including metals and chemicals used in about 90% of manufacturing processes. He is urging the European Commission to more thoroughly assess the impact of Chinese exports at the component level.
The EU has already imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in 2024 and raised tariffs on foreign steel imports in June. Trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič has previously said the EU's €360bn annual trade imbalance with China is unsustainable, and both sides have agreed to three months of talks, ending in October, aimed at averting a trade war.
Uneven competitive conditions
Julius said European metal producers face steel import tariffs and carbon emissions taxes, while Chinese-made components carry no such costs, a gap widened further by the undervalued yuan. This makes it difficult to compete with Chinese rivals, while companies, driven by shareholder interests, keep buying from China regardless of political rhetoric from Brussels.
A European Commission analysis from June projected job losses exceeding one million due to high energy costs and global competition, including the 100,000 job cuts at Volkswagen confirmed last week. China, for its part, has repeatedly accused Europe of protectionism and warned of countermeasures if the EU continues targeting Chinese companies.
