Exporting to China: the October EU-China consultations
On 9 October the EU and China agreed 16 points on tariffs, animal health and export controls. What they mean for your SME.
Published on 19 October 2026Updated on 19 October 2026
Luis Sanz FiguerasFounder de Exporta.ai
Photo: Pexels
The EU and China published a 16-point joint statement on 9 October 2026 after the second Trade and Investment Consultations. It sets no tariff cut: both sides will keep exploring one for certain goods. There is progress on animal health, medical devices, export controls and intellectual property. The next meeting will be in March 2027.
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What was agreed on 8 and 9 October
Wang Wentao, China's Minister of Commerce, and Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commissioner for Trade, held the second meeting of the Trade and Investment Consultations in Beijing. The result is an annex with 16 understandings.
There will be a ministerial video conference in January and the third meeting will take place in March 2027. Until then, news will come through the monitoring mechanisms both sides have agreed to strengthen.
Source: Comisión Europea – Declaración conjunta de las Consultas UE-China de Comercio e InversiónData for 2026-10
What matters to an SME selling to China
On tariffs, the text only says both sides will keep exploring, within WTO rules, the reduction or elimination of duties for certain goods. There are no figures or dates, so the tariff you pay today stays the same.
On animal health, China will speed up recognition of the regionalisation principle for eligible Member States on the basis of a risk assessment, and the two sides will explore how to lift restrictions on animal products affected by bluetongue. On medical devices, the market-access dialogue continues, with a matchmaking event during the CIIE fair. On cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, both sides will keep consulting on their regulatory frameworks.
Source: Comisión Europea – Declaración conjunta de las Consultas UE-China de Comercio e InversiónData for 2026-10
Export controls and intellectual property
China will keep facilitating export licences for rare earths and permanent magnets to the EU through a fast-track mechanism, and the EU will help clear priority dual-use licences to China. Both sides also commit to giving advance warning and more transparency on the listing and delisting of entities.
On intellectual property they acknowledge some progress and will monitor it in a joint working group. For a company exporting from Spain or another EU country, the practical reading is: check whether your product or its components are dual-use, and who appears on the lists, before closing an order.
Source: Comisión Europea – Declaración conjunta de las Consultas UE-China de Comercio e InversiónData for 2026-10
What to do with this news
- 01
Check the real tariff
Look up the tariff and requirements for your product in China with your tariff code; nothing has changed today.
- 02
Check whether your product is sensitive
See whether it is dual-use or depends on rare earths or magnets, and ask your customer about its status on the lists.
- 03
If you sell animal, cosmetic or medical products
Review the registration and health requirements before looking for a distributor.
- 04
Protect your intellectual property
Register your trademark and document your rights before showing the product to a distributor.
- 05
Note the dates
January 2027 for the video conference and March 2027 for the third meeting.
How Exporta helps you
With Exporta you consult the China market report by product to see tariffs, demand and competition, and with Buscar clientes you find distributors in your sector and the person who decides. You then follow up in the CRM, sending from your own email. Xport, the Exporta assistant, does the repetitive steps for you.
Have China's tariffs on EU products come down?
No. The joint statement only records that both sides will keep exploring the reduction or elimination of tariffs for certain goods, within WTO rules. It names no products, figures or dates.
When will there be news?
The ministers will speak by video conference in January 2027 and hold the third meeting in March 2027, according to the joint statement.
What is regionalisation in animal health?
It is the principle by which an importing country accepts that an animal disease affects only one region of the exporting country and not the whole State. China has committed to speeding up its recognition for EU Member States that qualify on the basis of a risk assessment.
Source: Comisión Europea – Declaración conjunta de las Consultas UE-China de Comercio e InversiónData for 2026-10
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