Monday 15 February

What's happening?

A March in Brussels by European industry workers and employers to show support for jobs, fair trade, and to stop China being granted Market Economy Status (MES) by the European Union.

When?

15 February 2016 at 11:30am CET (assembly starts from 09:00am)

Where?

Brussels: Parc du Cinquantenaire and the Schuman area. March begins at Avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée.

Why are we marching?

The EUROPEAN INDUSTRY FOR JOBS AND FAIR TRADE, STOP CHINA DUMPING, STOP CHINA MES MARCH seeks to convince the EU that granting Market Economy Status to China – at least until it becomes a true market economy that respects basic environmental standards – is a poor political and economic move.

      1. INTERNATIONAL TRADE MUST BE FREE & FAIR

• The EU faced a record trade deficit with China in 2015 of over €180 billion, even without MES. This imbalance is growing as a result of massive Chinese dumping.
• Chinese overproduction is dumped on foreign markets to sustain unviable jobs and growth in China.
• China exports its overcapacity at predatory prices below the real cost of production to Europe’s open market to gain market share and to undermine competition. China abuses the principles of free and fair trade.

      2. CHINA IS NOT A MARKET ECONOMY

• The EU has set out 5 criteria that determine whether a country is a market economy. According to the EU’s own assessment, China does not meet the criteria because of state intervention in markets and prices.
• China is not a market economy and does not practise Fair Trade. It should not be granted MES at the end of 2016.

      3. DUMPING DESTROYS JOBS ALONG WITH FREE AND FAIR INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• China’s dumping undermines free and fair trade. A company is dumping if it exports a product to the EU at prices lower than the normal value of the product (the domestic prices of the product or the cost of production) on its own domestic market.

• The European industry for free & fair trade: stop China dumping, stop China MES march will highlight the many jobs at risk of being lost in European manufacturing due to unfair competition and trade from China.

• THE EU MUST NOT GRANT MES TO CHINA

• China MES would leave the EU defenceless. MES would severely undermine the effectiveness of the EU’s trade defence system and expose the EU market to effectively unrestricted Chinese dumping. Current anti-dumping measures safeguard tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs in Europe, with thousands more in sectors or product types still undefended. 
• China MES would increase CO2 emissions. Chinese manufacturing (which is 80% based on coal) is much more detrimental to the environment than EU production (28% based on coal). The replacement of European domestic steel production by imports of Chinese steel causes around 43% more CO2 emissions.

How many people will be involved in the March?

Around 5000 people from 15 countries in the European Union will participate.