EU Experts Advocate for Stronger Anti-Coercion Trade Tool
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EU Experts Advocate for Stronger Anti-Coercion Trade Tool
- The European Union's Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), often called the "trade bazooka," became effective on December 27, 2023, and aims to protect the EU from economic pressure by non-EU countries.
- Dr. Victor Cha, a leading trade expert, noted in April 2026 that the ACI has been a "quiet but effective deterrent" against large-scale Chinese economic coercion.
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The European Union has developed a new trade defense mechanism, known as the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) or “trade bazooka,” to counter economic pressure from non-EU countries, particularly in response to concerns about actions by China. This instrument, which officially entered into force on December 27, 2023, allows the EU to implement strict trade restrictions if a country attempts to coerce an EU member state into a specific policy choice.
The development of the ACI was significantly influenced by China’s informal trade restrictions against Lithuania in 2021, after Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open a diplomatic office in Vilnius. These actions by China highlighted a gap in the EU’s existing trade defense mechanisms. While not explicitly targeting any single country, the ACI provides the EU with a legal framework to deter and respond to such coercive practices.
Experts, such as Dr. Victor Cha, president of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, have suggested that the ACI has already proven effective as a deterrent. Speaking in April 2026, Cha noted that there have been no recent cases of Chinese economic coercion on the scale of the Lithuania incident since the ACI’s announcement. The instrument allows for a range of countermeasures, including tariffs, restrictions on services, limitations on access to public procurement, and measures affecting intellectual property rights. The primary goal of the ACI is deterrence, aiming to resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation before resorting to countermeasures as a last resort.