EP gives consent to EU‑China TRQ apportionment agreement after UK withdrawal
EP Position
The European Parliament gave its consent to the conclusion of the Agreement and instructed its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of the People’s Republic of China. The rapporteur recommended consent without prejudice to Parliament’s democratic right of continuous scrutiny.
Key Trade Point
Negotiations under Article XXVIII of GATT were used to apportion EU tariff rate quotas after the UK’s withdrawal, maintaining total TRQ volumes but splitting them between the EU27 and the UK based on 2013–2015 trade flows and the methodology set out in Regulation (EU) 2019/216; China has negotiating rights for 32 TRQs and consultation rights for 11, accepted most proposed apportioned volumes but requested changes for 10 TRQs with agreed changes for garlic and processed poultry meat while eight other TRQ changes reflect agreements with the USA and Brazil.
What Comes Next
Parliamentary consent is required for the Council to adopt the decision concluding the Agreement and for the Agreement to come into force.
Sources
Official Documents
- RECOMMENDATION on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the People`s Republic of China pursuant to Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions on all the tariff rate quotas included in the EU Schedule CLXXV as a consequence of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union - A10-0026/2026 INTA recommends Parliament's consent to the EU–China GATT XXVIII TRQ concessions modification agreement; discussed 27 Jan 2026.
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