The European Union on Friday, June 20, imposed a ban on Chinese firms from participating in government medical device procurements worth over five million euros ($5.8 million), in a retaliatory move against China’s longstanding restrictions on European firms accessing its own public procurement market.

 

 

 

The ban, announced by the European Commission, applies to a broad range of medical supplies, including surgical instruments, diagnostic devices, and X-ray machines, within a market sector estimated at €150 billion across the EU.

 

 

 

 

“Our aim with these measures is to level the playing field for EU businesses,” said EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič. “We remain committed to dialogue with China to resolve these issues.”

 

 

 

The Commission stated that nearly 90 percent of Chinese government contracts for medical devices excluded or discriminated against European-made products. In addition to the procurement ban, the EU will also limit the Chinese content of successful bids to no more than 50 percent.

 

 

 

 

 

The move is the latest in a series of economic disputes between Brussels and Beijing, following tensions in sectors such as electric vehicles, railways, solar panels, and wind turbines. In April 2024, the EU launched an investigation into China’s public procurement practices for medical devices, the first under a 2022 regulation allowing the bloc to restrict foreign access to its own public tenders in response to market barriers abroad.

 

 

 

Despite over a year of negotiations, Brussels said no progress had been made, prompting the current restrictions. “The measure seeks to incentivise China to cease its discrimination against EU firms and EU-made medical devices and treat EU companies with the same openness as the EU does with Chinese companies and products,” the Commission said in its statement.

 

 

 

China has previously accused the EU of protectionism, as the bloc continues to toughen its trade policy with a growing arsenal of legislation designed to defend European industries from what it considers unfair competition.

 

 

 

The timing of the decision adds to an already complex global trade environment, with ongoing tensions between the EU and the United States under President Donald Trump, who has imposed sweeping tariffs on global imports, including from Europe.