Published on
20/02/2026 – 18:06 GMT+1

As the EU’s trade deficit with China keeps widening, the European Commission wants to revisit the WTO rule requiring members to extend the lowest tariff granted to one partner to all, known as the “Most Favoured Nation” principle under global trade rules.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The status is important as it has shaped trade for decades and allowed countries like China to benefit from low tariffs even as it transitions from an emerging to a sophisticated market as the world’s second largest economy.

With this new proposal, Brussels would link low tariffs to reciprocal market access. The move comes as European companies face persistent barriers in China, which has grown it trade surplus with the world and the EU despite calls to rebalance the relationship.

“The low tariffs should be matched with equal access to your [a trading partner’s] markets,” Šefčovič said on Friday after a meeting of EU trade ministers in Cyprus, adding: “I think that there has to be fairness on both sides.”

EU’s goods trade deficit with China keeps ballooning

The issue is set to surface at the WTO’s ministerial conference in Cameroon in March, one year after President Donald Trump jolted global trade with sweeping unilateral tariffs that challenged the multilateral system and have now been struck down by court.

WTO reform will dominate the gathering as policymakers grapple with a geo-economic landscape shaped by increasingly nationalist trade policies in both the US and China.

The “Most Favoured Nation” rule was designed to prevent discrimination among trading partners. But Brussels now sees it as contributing to structural imbalances with China.

“When this principle was embedded into the international trade law and WTO practices, simply the world was different,” Šefčovič said. “The GDP of China represented around 5 to 6%. Today we are at the level of 20%.”

The EU’s goods trade deficit with China widened to €359.3 billion in 2025.

Critics have long argued that Beijing has not fully adhered to WTO practices since it joined the institution in 2001, citing extensive Chinese government state subsidies. Since, its economy has grown to become the second largest in the world only behind the US.

“The past three decades global trade has changed profoundly. Some WTO members have dramatically expanded their share of global trade, while keeping their own markets relatively closed,” Commissioner Šefčovič said on Friday. “And at the same time, state support and non-market policies have multiplied.”

The “Most Favoured Nation” rule has also been called into question by the deals struck over the past year by the US with trading partners under the threat of steeper tariffs.

The EU-US agreement concluded last July sets 15% US tariffs on EU goods, while the EU committed to granting preferential treatment with zero tariffs on US imports.

Still, the trade agreements announced by the Trump administration have not been notified to the WTO, even though members are required to do so to allow others to assess their compliance with WTO rules.

The tariffs have also been declared ilegal by the US Supreme Court on the basis that the president exceeded his mandate by invoking emergency laws to push them throw. The ruling adds uncertainty to an already complex geopolitical context.

Iran is rebuilding nuclear sites damaged in previous U.S. strikes and “preparing for war,” despite engaging in talks with the Trump administration, according to a prominent Iranian opposition figure.

Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the Washington office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said newly released satellite images also prove the regime has accelerated its efforts to restore its “$2 trillion” uranium enrichment capabilities.

“The regime has clearly stepped up efforts to rebuild its uranium enrichment capabilities,” Jafarzadeh told Fox News Digital. “It is preparing itself for a possible war by trying to preserve its nuclear weapons program and ensure its protection.”

IRAN SAYS US MUST ‘PROVE THEY WANT TO DO A DEAL’ ON NUCLEAR TALKS IN GENEVA

“That said, the ongoing rebuilding of Iran’s uranium enrichment capabilities is particularly alarming as the regime is now engaged in nuclear talks with the United States,” he added.

New satellite images released by Earth intelligence monitor Planet Labs show reconstruction activity appears to be underway at the Isfahan complex.

Isfahan is one of three Iranian uranium enrichment plants targeted in the U.S. military operation known as “Midnight Hammer.”

The June 22 operation involved coordinated Air Force and Navy strikes on the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan facilities.

US POSITIONS AIRCRAFT CARRIERS, STRIKE PLATFORMS ACROSS MIDDLE EAST AS IRAN TALKS SHIFT TO OMAN

Despite the damage, the satellite images show Iran has buried entrances to a tunnel complex at the site, according to Reuters.

Similar steps were reportedly taken at the Natanz facility, which houses two additional enrichment plants.

“These efforts in Isfahan involve rebuilding its centrifuge program and other activities related to uranium enrichment,” Jafarzadeh said.

The renewed movements come as Iran participated in talks with the U.S. in Geneva.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump warned that “bad things” would happen if Iran did not make a deal.

While the talks were aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, Jafarzadeh argues that for the regime, talks would be nothing more than a tactical delay.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN ALREADY HAS US TERMS AS MILITARY STRIKE CLOCK TICKS

“Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei agreed to the nuclear talks as it would give the regime crucial time to avoid or limit the consequences of confrontation with the West,” he said.

Jafarzadeh also described the regime spending at least “$2 trillion” on nuclear capabilities, which he said “is higher than the entire oil revenue generated since the regime came to power in Iran in 1979.” 

“Tehran is trying to salvage whatever has remained of its nuclear weapons program and quickly rebuild it,” he said. “It has heavily invested in the nuclear weapons program as a key tool for the survival of the regime.”

IRANIAN OFFICIAL SAYS NUCLEAR TALKS WILL CONTINUE AFTER US, TEHRAN NEGOTIATIONS HAD ‘A GOOD START’ IN OMAN

Jafarzadeh is best known for publicly revealing the existence of Iran’s Natanz nuclear site in 2002, which led to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency and intensified global scrutiny of Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

“The insistence of the Iranian regime during the nuclear talks on maintaining its uranium enrichment capabilities, while rebuilding its damaged sites, is a clear indication that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has no plans to abandon its nuclear weapons program,” he said.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The National Council of Resistance of Iran, led by Maryam Rajavi, exposed for the first time the nuclear sites in Natanz, Arak, Fordow and more than 100 other sites and projects, Jafarzadeh said, “despite a massive crackdown by the regime on this movement.”