Publication

By 11 December 2016, the EU has to decide whether China should officially “join the club” as a Market Economy, which would enable it to trade freely without special tariffs. To facilitate our understanding of this topic, this paper 1) clarifies what having Market Economy Status (MES) actually means; 2) weighs the positive and negative economic impacts that granting MES to China would have on Europe; and 3) sets out the divisions between, and within, Europe’s capitals on the issue. The text’s author ultimately concludes that the disputes over MES are red herrings. What really matters to China and Europe is whether anti-dumping duties will play a role in their trade relations.