Overview
- The Financial Times reported that the European Commission is preparing rules that would force companies in sensitive sectors to buy parts from at least three suppliers outside China.
- Early ideas would cap purchases from any single supplier at about 30% to 40% and require the rest to come from different countries.
- The proposal is expected to go to a Commission meeting on China on May 29 and could move to EU leaders for possible endorsement in late June.
- Company surveys show many EU firms are reworking supply chains, yet roughly 22% report no viable non-Chinese alternatives, which could raise costs and delay projects if rules arrive before options scale.
- Trade chief Maros Sefcovic is also weighing tariffs on Chinese chemicals and machinery and has signed a US critical minerals pact, while a 2025 EU study found reliance on Chinese inputs rose from 2018 to 2023.