A new trade war may be brewing. This time, Europe is taking a page from Trump’s playbook — ‘We no longer live in a world of pink ponies and rainbows’

There is growing alarm among European leaders that Chinese exports threaten their domestic industries, and their response could resemble President Donald Trump’s trade war.

The disappointment is further compounded by the fact that China’s goods trade surplus with the European Union will reach 360.6 billion euros ($414 billion) in 2025, up 15% compared to 2024. And in the first four months of this year, the gap widened by 10%.

French President Emmanuel Macron even proposed a plan of action straight out of Trump’s playbook.

“We must take safeguards, safeguards,” he said last month, calling for “the European equivalent of Section 301.”

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 allows the United States to impose tariffs in response to unfair or discriminatory trade practices. Trump plans to use Section 301 as the cornerstone of his crackdown on trade deficits after the Supreme Court struck down global tariffs Trump levied under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act last year.

Germany, Poland, Netherlands and Belgium Support came to Macron’s call New EU powers need to impose tariffs on China quickly.

In a separate joint statement, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Lithuania called on the EU to explore a new measure, possibly requiring new tariffs or quotas, to limit over-reliance on a single country.

Of course, the bloc has imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in 2024 while also launching anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations against Beijing. But investigations are ongoing and the EU’s biggest safeguard must be implemented globally, meaning trading partners in good standing will be affected as collateral damage.

For now, the EU is refraining from taking a more aggressive stance out of fear of Chinese retaliation. focus on dialogue While proposing a new law to diversify key sources of supply.

But the EU still faces a large trade imbalance with China, putting the EU in a situation similar to the one the US experienced last year before the “Liberation Day” shock. While Europe has been hit with US tariffs, Trump has primarily targeted China. Beijing responded with its own taxes as well as restrictions on rare earth exports.

Both sides have maintained the ceasefire, but Chinese exports dominate markets elsewhere as U.S. trade barriers remain high.

European officials bemoaned the new world order as the old global trade regime was in shambles.

“We live in a world of wolves now. We no longer live in a world of pink ponies and rainbows,” said an EU diplomat he told Reuters This week.

The United States, Europe and other leading economies have long called on China to rebalance its growth towards consumer spending and away from over-reliance on exports.

But Beijing continued to support key industrial sectors, and with domestic demand still sluggish, Chinese companies sent excess supply abroad, often undercutting domestic producers.

At the same time, China’s move up the value chain means its recent export surge threatens top industries in Europe, Japan and South Korea.

Last summer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen Accused China of distorting trade and limiting access for European firms. And in the autumn, Macron warns EU could impose tariffs on China To eliminate the trade deficit.

But the EU’s proposed legislation would require companies to diversify their supply chains, with von der Leyen complaining that previous efforts did not force businesses to act quickly enough.

European officials also noted that the EU was taking too long.

“We were talking in November about how unbearable the situation in China was and how we needed to take action,” a senior EU diplomat said. told Finance Times. “And here we are again, talking about the same thing.”

This story first appeared on: Fortune.com