EU liberals push Canada-Japan-Korea pact to counter US, China trade pressure

Liberals in the European Parliament are urging EU leaders to pursue a formal agreement with Japan, Canada and South Korea, aiming to shield trade partners from what they describe as excessive pressure by US President Donald Trump and China.

According to a document obtained by POLITICO and addressed to EU leaders ahead of Thursday’s summit in Brussels, the Renew Europe group is calling on the European Commission to “define and negotiate joint export control agreements” by the end of 2026 as part of a proposed “Geoeconomic Deterrence Agreement.”

The document is set to be released later today and circulated among EU leaders.

It states:

“This pact would map shared critical dependencies, such as semiconductors and rare earth elements, and propose mutual response clauses in trade agreements to deter coercion from the US or China. If one country is targeted with aggressive tariffs, all countries should respond.”

Renew Europe includes French President Emmanuel Macron as well as leaders from Estonia, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands.

The proposal reflects the group’s response to remarks by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he called on so-called “middle powers” to unite and “build something bigger, better, stronger and fairer.”

“This is the task of middle powers, the countries that stand to lose the most in a world of fortresses and gain the most from genuine cooperation,” Carney said.

Thursday’s summit had originally been convened to discuss ways to revive the bloc’s economy. However, the agenda has been overshadowed by the war in Iran, which has driven up energy costs, and by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s continued veto of a €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine.