15 July 2016 / Reuters reported that the U.S. warned China during a WTO Council on Trade in Goods meeting  that it had not done enough to qualify for market economy status, especially in steel and aluminium. Read the full article here.

Brussels, Thursday 14 July 2016- Following the EU-China Summit in Beijing on 12 – 13 July, AEGIS Europe, a grouping of nearly 30 European manufacturing associations, says that European leaders must not let down European industry and its workers by giving into China on Market Economy Status (MES). ‘Concessions’ on steel dumping are not justification for the granting of the much-coveted status.

14 July 2016 / The European Economic and Social Committee issued a press release to warn against granting China market economy status (MES) and to call on the European institutions to promote fair international competition and actively defend European jobs and European values with efficient trade defence instruments (TDIs). Read the full press release here.

11 Luglio 2016 / In vista del Vertice UE-Cina a Pechino il 12-13 luglio, AEGIS Europa, un'alleanza di oltre 30 associazioni manifatturiere europee, invita il Presidente della Commissione europea Juncker e il Presidente del Consiglio europeo, Donald Tusk, aprendere una posizione chiara contro il dumping, l'eccesso di capacità produttiva e sovvenzioni illegali cinesi.

11 July 2016 / Ahead of the EU China Summit in Beijing on 12-13 July, AEGIS Europe, an alliance of more than 30 European manufacturing associations, calls on European Commission President Juncker and President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, to take a clear position against Chinese dumping, overcapacity and illegal subsidies. 

21 June 2016 / The Wall Street Journal reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is losing patience with "China’s shopping spree in Europe as it closes its own markets". While China takes over advanced manufacturing companies in countries like Germany, Western companies are prevented from tapping into Chinese markets. Journalist Andrew Browne writes, "On a visit to Beijing this month, Ms. Merkel called on Chinese authorities to grant foreign firms the same 'rights and privileges' as domestic ones." Read the full article here (subscriber only).

11 June 2016 / In the Post's View, the Washington Post argues the United States not to yield to China's demand to be recognised as a market economy, not least because it is not one. China has built up massive excess industrial capacity by subsidising certain industries. The Editorial Board at WP strongly advises the US not to grant China MES "unless and until China shows irreversible progress on economic reform, including, specifically, its subsidised excess industrial capacity." Read the full article here. 

10 June 2016 / Inside U.S. Trade reports that French Minister of State for Foreign Trade Matthias Fekl confirmed that France is working closely with US officials and within the G7 on the MES China issue. He further emphasised that China is not a market economy and that treating it as such could entail job losses. Read the full article here (subscriber-only). 

2 June 2016 / POLITICO Europe reports that 18 US senators are urging EU Trade Commissioner Malmstroem not to give China market economy status. In a letter dated 27 May, this bipartisan group argues that "labeling China a market economy before it in fact becomes one will thwart global efforts to secure China's compliance with its international trade obligations. [...] We urge the Commission to work with the United States on efforts to secure China's full compliance with its WTO commitments. Only after China has become a market economy should the EU treat it as such." Read the letter here and the POLITICO article here (subscriber only).

25 May 2016 / POLITICO Europe reports that the MES Action group, a European Parliament interest group composed of 70 MEPs, announced today that about 91% of the 6,000 participants who took part in a public consultation earlier this year are opposed to granting granting China market economy status (MES). Read the full article here (subscriber only) or take a look at the presentation of the results of the European Parliament's counter public consultation, #MESChinaWhyNot.

24 May 2016 / The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) strongly reject the granting of Market Economy (MES) to China.

24 May 2016 / In the run-up to the G7 on 26 May,  the AEGIS Europe alliance has released open letters addressed to European G7 leaders urging them to take joint action against Chinese dumping and Market Economy Status (MES).

17 May 2016 / AEGIS Europe, the alliance of manufacturing industries in Europe, welcomes the initiative of German and French Trade Ministers to promote an effective anti-dumping instrument and to oppose the premature granting of Market Economy Status to China.

12 May 2016 / POLITICO Europe reports on the European Parliament's adoption of the resolution recommending the European Commission not grant market economy status to China. The article states, "While the vote has no direct legal impact, it sets red lines for the Commission, which has to decide before the summer break whether it approves China as a market economy, and which needs the Parliament’s approval for such a decision." Read the full article here.

12 May 2016 / With an 83% overwhelming majority, the European Parliament today passed a Resolution against dumping and the granting of MES to China. The Resolution is an important signal that the EU will not grant MES so long as China fails to meet its WTO obligations.

11 May 2016 / The Financial Times argues that China needs to reform and meet its World Trade Organisation obligations, agreed to in 2001, if it is to enjoy the privileges associated with being granted market economy status (MES). The article states, "Beijing has been much keener to lobby for MES than to reform its own economy to attain it on merit. Most countries, reasonably enough, have concluded that China does not meet the criteria whereby its lending and production decisions are substantially made without state direction. [...] Whatever tactics the EU and US choose, they must try to nudge China further down the path to genuinely liberalising its economy, a journey on which it has made much less progress than it promised when it first joined the WTO." Read the full article here (subscriber only).

10 May 2016 / Following the debate this morning in the European Parliament, S&D Group president Gianni Pittella said, "The S&D Group is against granting Market Economy Status to China for a simple reason: China, despite the huge efforts it has made, is not yet a market economy. [...] Millions of jobs and a fundamental share of European GDP are at stake. [...] We don't want to be responsible for a historic mistake." Article originally published on the S&D website.

7 May 2016 / The Economist weighs in on the debate on China's market economy status (MES), which China argues should be granted automatically in December 2016. This argument is based on the expiry of a part of China's WTO Accession Protocol. And while the legal interpretation is under debate, everyone agrees that China remains a non-market economy. Although China agreed to market-oriented reforms in 2001, it fails to meet four out of the EU's five criteria for being considered a market economy. The Economist further warns that the US is unlikely to grant China MES, and should the EU decide differently, it would widen an "already worrying rift" in the transatlantic alliance. Read the article in full here.

3 May 2016 / MEP Marielle de Sarnez pens a convincing article for the Huffington Post arguing for the EU not only to deny China Market Economy Status but also to strengthen its trade defence instruments. She further highlights the need for a united EU to defend the interests of European citizens without yielding to the fear of retaliation. Read the article in full here (in French).

29 April 2016 / AEGIS Europe, the industry alliance uniting 30 European industry associations from steel and textiles to bicycles and ceramics, welcomes the statement made by Sigmar Gabriel, German Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs, against granting China Market Economy (MES) Status until it abides by the rules.