The European Union (EU) has decided on a policy to strengthen regulations on some imports from China. The measure aims to prevent products that have received unfair subsidies from the Chinese government from flowing into the EU market at low prices and causing domestic companies to lose their competitiveness. The targets include electric vehicles (EVs) and solar panels, and additional tariffs are expected to be imposed. China has strongly pushed back against this move and is showing a stance of taking retaliatory measures. As a result, the possibility of trade friction between the EU and China escalating further has increased.
Vする方針を固める= to firm up the policy of doing ~; to decide on a course of actionVのを防ぐ= to prevent ~ from happening (nominalizes the preceding clause with の)Vされる見通しだ= it is expected / forecast that ~ will be doneVる構えを見せる= to show a stance / readiness to do ~Vる可能性が高まる= the possibility of doing ~ increases / grows
Learning Notes
Grammar Patterns
Pattern
Meaning
Vする方針を固める
to firm up the policy of doing ~; to decide on a course of action
Vのを防ぐ
to prevent ~ from happening (nominalizes the preceding clause with の)
Vされる見通しだ
it is expected / forecast that ~ will be done
Vる構えを見せる
to show a stance / readiness to do ~
Vる可能性が高まる
the possibility of doing ~ increases / grows
Vocabulary
Word
Reading
Level
Meaning
規制
きせい
N2
regulation; restriction; control
補助金
ほじょきん
N1
subsidy; grant
追加関税
ついかかんぜい
N1
additional tariff; extra customs duty
報復
ほうふく
N1
retaliation; reprisal; countermeasures
貿易摩擦
ぼうえきまさつ
N1
trade friction; trade conflict
Language Insights
•構えを見せる is a common journalistic phrase meaning 'to signal an intention' or 'to take a posture.' It implies a deliberate public display, not yet a confirmed action.
•域内 (いきない) specifically refers to 'within a bloc or defined zone,' here the EU single market. It differs from 国内 (domestic/within one country).
•補助金 (subsidy) combined with 不当 (unfair/improper) reflects WTO language around 'unfair state subsidies' — a key concept in EU trade defense law.
•見通しです at the end of a clause softens a claim from 'will happen' to 'is expected to happen' — a nuance important in reading news Japanese accurately.
•貿易摩擦 (trade friction) is the standard Japanese term for 'trade dispute' or 'trade war' tensions, widely used since the US-Japan trade disputes of the 1980s.