EU Discussing Plans for Reducing Imports, Using 450 Million Population Base ‘Single Market’ as Negotiation Leverage

EU Discussing Plans for Reducing Imports, Using 450 Million Population Base ‘Single Market’ as Negotiation Leverage
A woman watches a container ship passing by toward the harbor area of the northern German city of Cuxhaven on May 2, 2020. Morris Mac Matzen/AFP via Getty Images
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BRUSSELS—The European Union is accelerating plans to make itself less reliant on imports after being spurred into action by the COVID-19 pandemic and international trade tensions, as well as the risk of takeover of European firms by state-funded Chinese companies.

Leaders from the bloc’s 27 countries are holding a first major discussion on how they can work together to achieve greater “strategic autonomy” from outsiders at a summit in Brussels this week.