(Ecofin Agency) - According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), granting China the status of market economy could endanger up to 3.5 million jobs in the European Union.

According to Robert E. Scott, who led the study, if Europe grants China the status of market economy which it claims, Chinese exports to Europe would then increase by 25 to 50% per year: “By giving up the possibility of rectifying the distortions of competition due to dumping financed by a state, European producers would expose themselves to an influx of cheap products coming from China, which would lead to a loss of employment and investment for manufacturing companies.”

AEGIS Europe, which gathers about 30 employers’ associations, is sounding the alarm bells: “The market economy status would make null and void 50 anti-dumping measures of vital importance, currently in force in the EU. China will be in a position to extend its dumping strategy to all European manufacturing sectors”, states Milan Nitzschke, spokesperson for the manufacturers group. A point of view shared by the European group of affiliated trade unions Industriall.