The EU plans a December trade package with a new defense tool

European Union trade ministers used an informal meeting in Dublin on Friday to prepare for the EU-Canada summit later this month, review the bloc’s trade dialogue with China, and press for movement with the United States on tariffs that still affect European wine and spirits.

The gathering on Oct. 23 brought together trade officials at a time when Brussels is trying to protect supply chains, respond faster to trade pressure, and deepen ties with partners it sees as reliable. European Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told ministers about the latest consultations with China on trade and investment and then turned to the follow-up from the recent European Council meeting, where EU leaders asked the European Commission to design a new trade defense instrument that could deliver results quickly and effectively.

Speaking after the meeting, Šefčovič said the Commission was preparing a legislative package on diversification for December. He said it would include the planned “diversifyEU” instrument as well as a new trade defense tool, and he suggested the package could go beyond those two measures. He said the Commission had seen in recent months how important trade diversion had become and added that officials were also examining rules of origin and the issue of transshipment of goods.

That work points to a broader concern inside the EU that trade flows can shift rapidly when major economies impose duties or other restrictions. Brussels wants instruments that can react faster when goods are rerouted through third countries or when imports surge into the European market after barriers are raised elsewhere. Asked whether safeguard measures could move beyond hybrid vehicles into other sectors, Šefčovič said plastics could be next.

China remained a central topic in Dublin, though ministers also spent much of their second working session on Canada ahead of the EU-Canada summit in Montreal on Oct. 29 and 30. Canadian Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu attended events on the sidelines of the Dublin meeting on Thursday and Friday, underlining the effort on both sides to use the summit to strengthen an already close economic relationship.

Austrian Economy Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer said before the meeting that Europe should think more broadly about its economic space. He argued that the EU single market should not stop at Europe’s continental border and said Canada could be brought closer not only through tariffs, but also through product standards and worker mobility.

Digital trade is expected to be one of the main issues at the summit. Irish Trade Minister Helen McEntee indicated that work on the digital economy would advance soon, and Šefčovič said a day earlier that the EU was negotiating a digital trade agreement intensely. He said more than 40% of the EU’s €51 billion in traded services is already delivered digitally, a sign of how important the area has become for cross-border business.

The ministers’ discussion also returned to the United States during a working lunch on Friday, with tariffs on wine and spirits again drawing attention. French Foreign Trade Minister Nicolas Forissier said France had been seeking exemptions for wine and spirits for years and had kept raising the issue with U.S. officials, especially since the Turnberry Agreement. His comments reflected a long-running French push to remove duties that producers say weigh on sales and create uncertainty in one of the most important export markets for European drinks.

Šefčovič said the Commission would keep working hard to make progress on an arrangement that would apply to all spirits and all wines. His remarks signaled that Brussels is still trying to widen any tariff relief so it covers the full range of affected products rather than a narrower group.

For wine producers and other beverage exporters, the issue goes beyond diplomacy. Any change in U.S. tariffs can affect export costs, pricing, and the ability of European brands to compete on shelves and restaurant lists in the American market. That is especially important for producers already dealing with volatile demand, shifting freight costs, and strong competition from domestic and non-EU suppliers. A broader exemption would not guarantee stronger sales, but it could ease one of the main trade burdens facing the sector.

The discussion with Washington remains unresolved in other areas. Šefčovič said there had been no progress on steel derivatives, even though contacts between the Commission and U.S. authorities were continuing. That stalemate is a reminder that the transatlantic trade agenda still contains several difficult files, even as both sides try to avoid a wider escalation.

Taken together, the talks in Dublin showed how many fronts the EU is trying to manage at once. With China, the focus is on reducing vulnerabilities while keeping a dialogue open. With Canada, the aim is to move toward deeper integration in areas such as digital trade and standards. With the United States, the effort is to secure practical relief in sensitive sectors, including beverages, while keeping wider trade frictions under control.

The meeting also highlighted the Commission’s growing emphasis on diversification as a policy response to global instability. Rather than relying too heavily on a small number of markets or supply routes, Brussels is trying to spread risk across more partners and build faster tools for cases where trade patterns shift suddenly. The planned December package is expected to show how far the Commission is willing to go in giving itself those powers, including on trade defense and market surveillance linked to origin rules and possible transshipment.

For now, the most immediate test will come in Montreal at the end of the month, where EU and Canadian officials are expected to discuss how to deepen cooperation at a time when digital trade, industrial resilience, and strategic alignment are becoming more central to commercial policy. In parallel, the EU’s conversations with Beijing and Washington are likely to continue shaping the bloc’s next steps on tariffs, safeguards, and support for sectors exposed to external trade pressure, including wine and spirits.