German MEP Bernd Lange (S&D), chair of the European Parliament's trade committee, said on Friday that the October deadline set by the European Commission to reach "tangible results" in trade talks with China is “not realistic at all” if the EU wants a binding agreement.
The European Union, which is under pressure from a €1 billion-a-day trade deficit with China that threatens hundreds of thousands of jobs across the bloc, is seeking a negotiated solution to rebalance the two sides' trade relationship.
However, tensions are running high. In recent weeks, China has repeatedly threatened to retaliate against Brussels if it adopts protectionist measures to shut its market to Chinese products.
Negotiations between the European Commission and China began last Monday in an effort to ease tensions, with EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič setting October as a deadline to achieve “tangible results."
Lange met that announcement with pessimism.
