France’s EU Affairs Minister Benjamin Haddad has urged Europe to deploy every instrument at its disposal to defend its industrial interests against what he describes as increasingly aggressive trade practices from foreign competitors. Speaking on Euronews’ 12 Minutes With, Haddad argued that the European Union must shed its naivety and adopt a more assertive stance in a global trading system that, he says, no longer respects its foundational rules.
“A commitment to international trade law — it’s important. But you have to be strong and to be respected,” Haddad said. “You have to be able to defend your interest and use all the tools that you can leverage, especially to impose the very basic principles of fairness and reciprocity.”
The Last Evangelist of Free Trade
Haddad’s remarks come as the European Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, prepares to debate tougher measures against a surge of Chinese imports that risk overwhelming European industry. The discussion is expected to intensify when EU leaders gather for a summit in mid-June. Five member states — including France, Italy, and Spain — have already urged the Commission to consider tariffs and other safeguards, without explicitly naming China.
“We are still sometimes the last evangelists of a religion that no one is practising anymore,” Haddad said, referring to the World Trade Organization’s principles of unfettered free trade. “China and the US have abandoned a long time ago.”
Concern over Beijing’s industrial overcapacity, heavy use of state subsidies, and control over critical raw materials has been mounting. China’s dominance in strategic sectors — from rare earths to electric vehicles — gives it significant political leverage over competitors. Yet the EU has struggled to forge a unified response, with countries like Germany reluctant to confront Beijing for fear of damaging trade ties.
Haddad acknowledged that Germany’s position is shifting. “There’s a realisation that’s coming across everywhere in Europe, that for a long time we thought it was safe to export to China,” he said. “And now we see, on the contrary, that technological know-how is increasing in China with the support of the state.” A recent study found that German industry lost 124,000 jobs in 2025, with the automotive sector hit hardest by foreign competition, weak demand, and rising energy costs.
Joint Borrowing as a Competitive Tool
French President Emmanuel Macron has called for a reset of the EU’s economic doctrine by June, including more joint borrowing at the EU level. However, the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted global supply chains, threatening to sideline Europe’s competitiveness push. The so-called “frugal” group of EU countries — including the Netherlands and Austria — opposes raising common debt while fiscal space is tight and national deficits are soaring.
Haddad championed joint borrowing as the only viable path to regain Europe’s edge. “There’s actually a lot of demand on markets for assets coming from the European Union, which is a reliable, trusted financial partner,” he said. “When you look at areas like defence, like space or like AI, where we’re under-investing, we’re under-leveraged compared to the US, this is where it would make sense indeed to once again borrow on the markets and inject investment massively to support our own innovators, our own companies.”
He also suggested that a core group of willing member states could move ahead without unanimous backing. “I think when you have a core group of member states that want to move forward, and that want to deepen their integration and cooperation on these issues, then, at some point, we should be able to move forward and create momentum for others to join.”
Haddad’s call for a more muscular trade policy echoes broader European anxieties about the erosion of multilateral rules. As the EU debates its next steps, the question remains whether the bloc can translate its single-market power into effective leverage — or whether it will remain the last evangelist of a faith few still practice.
