EU upgrades import barometer to track sustained trade surges

The European Union (EU) has upgraded its import monitoring mechanism to focus on longer-term, sustained increases in imports entering the internal market and their impact on European industry.The reconfigured ‘import barometer’ will draw on Eurostat data, take a more aggregate form and be updated quarterly from this month. The change is intended to capture longer-term trends in trade flows and support decisions aimed at protecting the EU internal market, its industrial base and economic security, the European Commission said in a press release.

Europe has reconfigured its import barometer to track sustained import increases and their impact on the EU internal market.
The mechanism will use Eurostat data, take a more aggregate form and be updated quarterly from this month.
European companies are being asked to provide market intelligence to support targeted protective action where needed.

The revised methodology responds to rising imports linked to industrial overcapacities, often supported by state-led policies and measures, and their effect on EU industrial production. The barometer is designed to improve the shared understanding of sustained import increases in certain products.

The commission also reiterated its call for European companies to contribute market intelligence and data. It said combining the barometer with industry information would help assess which products and sectors are suffering injury from sustained import increases, and may need targeted, proportionate and timely protective action.

EU launched the import surveillance tool on June 5, 2025, before renaming it the ‘import barometer’. It has also published a guide to using safeguards alongside existing guides on anti-subsidy and anti-dumping investigations.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk