The EU is poised to unleash its power late tonight! A new "economic iron curtain" could ignite global trade tensions, and the euro's continued rise is awaiting further developments.
2025-12-03 13:56:25
The European Commission will publish new economic security guidelines aimed at anticipating trade threats and adopting a more strategic approach to the EU's existing trade instruments. Faced with escalating external risks, the EU executive branch will release new guidelines later on Wednesday (December 3) to strengthen market protection within the EU.
Prior to the release of these economic security guidelines, tense trade interactions within the EU had been ongoing for months. The trade policy of the EU's closest ally, the United States, was also undergoing a dramatic shift, with its nationalist and protectionist stance putting immense pressure on the EU and contributing to what many consider an unbalanced July 2025 trade agreement.
The three pillars of the economic security strategy in June 2023 were "promotion, protection, and cooperation," while the strategy to be announced on Wednesday will focus on "protection and cooperation." In addition to risks already covered in sensitive technology sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and biotechnology, new risks will also be taken into consideration.
The guidelines will also clarify how to best address economic threats using existing EU trade instruments—as for when to use these instruments, EU law already provides clear guidelines.
The European Commission will publish a new economic security guideline aimed at anticipating trade threats and employing existing trade instruments in a more strategic manner.
The guidelines will clarify how to best utilize existing EU trade instruments to address economic threats—and EU law already provides clear guidelines on when to use these instruments. This is an adjustment to the three pillars of "promotion, protection, and cooperation" adopted in June 2023, with the new strategy focusing on the "protection and cooperation" dimension.
The EU possesses a wide range of trade defense tools, from foreign investment screening to anti-dumping duties. The new document will clarify the EU's response plan should the Anti-Coercion Instrument, adopted in 2023, be triggered. This instrument is designed to counter foreign economic coercion. Despite recent heated debate among member states regarding whether to invoke this instrument against the US or other countries, it has not yet been activated.
According to a senior Brussels official, European Commission Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič will emphasize that the EU will shift from a reactive to a proactive approach. In addition to known sensitive technology sectors such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence, the new strategy will also identify other potential risks. This shift comes as the EU continues to grapple with challenges such as the shift towards protectionism in US trade policy, with the trade agreement reached in July 2025 being widely considered unbalanced.
Given that other major trading entities still favor domestic companies in public procurement, the EU is expected to develop a response to support European businesses. The official stated that European companies will be deeply involved in the implementation of the new guidelines because "the risks actually occur at the company level."
The European Commission also plans to expand its network of collaboration among member states to ensure all resources are mobilized to protect EU markets. Ultimately, the guidelines will continue to work with like-minded countries, such as other G7 members, and will be grounded in the new global trade landscape for risk assessment.
The guidelines themselves do not directly determine the euro's trajectory, but the policy shift behind them (from "promotion" to "protection") could change the eurozone's trade and investment landscape in the long term .
If the new guidelines strengthen defensive measures for key industries (such as semiconductors and new energy), it may boost market confidence in the stability of the European supply chain in the short term and support the euro.
The guidelines emphasize "mobilizing the strength of all member states," and if they can improve policy consistency within the EU, they could boost investor confidence in the Eurozone's resilience.
The euro rose for the eighth consecutive trading day against the dollar on Wednesday, gaining about 0.16%.
(Euro/USD daily chart, source: FX678)
At 13:56 Beijing time, the euro was trading at 1.1641/42 against the US dollar.
Prior to the release of these economic security guidelines, tense trade interactions within the EU had been ongoing for months. The trade policy of the EU's closest ally, the United States, was also undergoing a dramatic shift, with its nationalist and protectionist stance putting immense pressure on the EU and contributing to what many consider an unbalanced July 2025 trade agreement.
The three pillars of the economic security strategy in June 2023 were "promotion, protection, and cooperation," while the strategy to be announced on Wednesday will focus on "protection and cooperation." In addition to risks already covered in sensitive technology sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and biotechnology, new risks will also be taken into consideration.
The guidelines will also clarify how to best address economic threats using existing EU trade instruments—as for when to use these instruments, EU law already provides clear guidelines.
Risk Foresight Mechanism
The European Commission will publish a new economic security guideline aimed at anticipating trade threats and employing existing trade instruments in a more strategic manner.
The guidelines will clarify how to best utilize existing EU trade instruments to address economic threats—and EU law already provides clear guidelines on when to use these instruments. This is an adjustment to the three pillars of "promotion, protection, and cooperation" adopted in June 2023, with the new strategy focusing on the "protection and cooperation" dimension.
The EU possesses a wide range of trade defense tools, from foreign investment screening to anti-dumping duties. The new document will clarify the EU's response plan should the Anti-Coercion Instrument, adopted in 2023, be triggered. This instrument is designed to counter foreign economic coercion. Despite recent heated debate among member states regarding whether to invoke this instrument against the US or other countries, it has not yet been activated.
Strategic transformation direction
According to a senior Brussels official, European Commission Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič will emphasize that the EU will shift from a reactive to a proactive approach. In addition to known sensitive technology sectors such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence, the new strategy will also identify other potential risks. This shift comes as the EU continues to grapple with challenges such as the shift towards protectionism in US trade policy, with the trade agreement reached in July 2025 being widely considered unbalanced.
Given that other major trading entities still favor domestic companies in public procurement, the EU is expected to develop a response to support European businesses. The official stated that European companies will be deeply involved in the implementation of the new guidelines because "the risks actually occur at the company level."
The European Commission also plans to expand its network of collaboration among member states to ensure all resources are mobilized to protect EU markets. Ultimately, the guidelines will continue to work with like-minded countries, such as other G7 members, and will be grounded in the new global trade landscape for risk assessment.
Potential impact on the euro
The guidelines themselves do not directly determine the euro's trajectory, but the policy shift behind them (from "promotion" to "protection") could change the eurozone's trade and investment landscape in the long term .
If the new guidelines strengthen defensive measures for key industries (such as semiconductors and new energy), it may boost market confidence in the stability of the European supply chain in the short term and support the euro.
The guidelines emphasize "mobilizing the strength of all member states," and if they can improve policy consistency within the EU, they could boost investor confidence in the Eurozone's resilience.
The euro rose for the eighth consecutive trading day against the dollar on Wednesday, gaining about 0.16%.
(Euro/USD daily chart, source: FX678)
At 13:56 Beijing time, the euro was trading at 1.1641/42 against the US dollar.
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