The European metals industry body Eurometal has warned that EU manufacturing could lose 300,000 jobs by the end of 2026 unless the European Commission acts to curb what it calls the "colonisation" of European supply chains by Chinese component manufacturers. On Monday, the group plans to stage a protest in Brussels, parading 10 symbolic coffins bearing labels such as "EU competitiveness" and "industrial jobs" around the Commission's headquarters, arguing that policymakers have not grasped how deeply Chinese-made components have embedded themselves in European industry.

Eurometal's president, Alexander Julius, said China's strategy of dominating component supply chains, including metals and chemicals used in roughly 90% of manufacturing, is deliberate government policy, and accused Brussels of failing to tackle the root cause of factory job losses across Europe. China currently runs a record trade surplus with the EU of around €1bn a day, and the wider bilateral trade imbalance stands at some €360bn a year, which trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič has called unsustainable; the two sides have agreed a three-month truce and talks ending in October to try to avert a trade war. The EU has already imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and raised steel import tariffs, but Julius argues European firms still face higher costs from carbon taxes and tariffs that Chinese rivals avoid. The Commission's own analysis in June projected over 1 million potential job losses from high energy costs and global competition, including Volkswagen's confirmed cut of 100,000 jobs, while China has accused the EU of protectionism and threatened countermeasures.