France Urges EU to Impose 30% Tariff on All Chinese Goods or Depreciate Euro by 30% Against Yuan

On February 9, 2026, a strategic report released by a French government agency stated that the European Union should consider imposing an unprecedented 30% across-the-board tariff on Chinese goods, or devaluing the euro against the renminbi by 30%, to counter the influx of a large volume of cheap imports.

The full title of the report is "L'industrie européenne face au rouleau compresseur chinois" (Europe's Industry Facing the Chinese "Steamroller"), officially released on February 9, 2026 by the France Stratégie. This institution reports directly to the French Prime Minister and is responsible for providing strategic guidance for long-term public policy. The report's authoring team included a former Minister for European Affairs.

French Government Agency Report

The report indicates that Chinese industry has entered a new phase: no longer confined to low-end products, it is now gaining market share in high-quality sectors through technological upgrading and cost advantages. This includes areas such as electric vehicles, batteries, machine tools, pharmaceuticals, and robotics, some of which were previously dominated by European countries.

The report found that Chinese products, while of comparable or higher quality, have production costs 30-40% lower than those in Europe, with some industries seeing even greater differences.

The report proposes two "paradigm shifts" to offset 30–40% of the cost gap.

🚨Option 1: Impose an unprecedented, across-the-board tariff of 30% on all Chinese goods, covering virtually all imports rather than targeting specific products.

🚨Scenario 2: A 20%-30% depreciation of the Euro against the Chinese Yuan to increase the relative price of Chinese goods in Europe. The report acknowledges this is more difficult to achieve, requiring international coordination, potentially similar to the historical "Plaza Accord," but argues it is more "natural" than tariffs.

The report found that a quarter of French exports and as much as two-thirds of German production face competition from China.

The report states that existing EU trade defense instruments, typically including lengthy anti-dumping investigations, are no longer sufficient and calls for a "large-scale and crucial" policy shift.

The report acknowledges that artificially engineering a depreciation of the euro or an appreciation of the RMB is more difficult than imposing tariffs; however, imposing tariffs is also far from easy, as it requires the support of a majority of EU member states.

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said last week that he might put the issue of currency market volatility on the agenda for France's G7 presidency this year, if necessary.

This suggestion is not isolated. Since 2025, the EU has imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, with France being a key proponent.

The report is currently only a policy recommendation and has not yet become an official EU decision, but it has sparked widespread debate and is seen as an important signal of France's push for "de-risking" and trade defense upgrades at the EU level.