China curbs EU medtech procurement from today
Starting from today, Sunday, EU-based companies will be excluded from the Chinese government procurement for certain medical devices if the value is higher than 45m Chinese yuan (€5.3m), according to a statement from the country's ministry of finance on Sunday.
Medtech's key role in Irish economy
There are approximately 450 medical device and technology companies operating in Ireland, including nine of the world's 10 largest companies in this space. According to Irish Medtech, the sector employs more than 48,000 people.
Products made by EU-funded companies in China are not impacted by the curbs, its ministry of commerce said in a separate statement.
China's move came after the EU announced plans to restrict Chinese medical device manufacturers from accessing public procurement contracts worth more than €5m.
The measures will restrict Chinese companies from accessing around 60% of the public spending in this field, or around €150bn, according to an EU official familiar with the plans.
The EU will also allow no more than 50% of inputs from China for successful bids.
Chinese medtech sales into EU
Chinese exports of medical devices to the EU have more than doubled between 2015 and 2023, the European Commission said in a statement.
In another sign of increasing tensions between Europe and Beijing, the Chinese government intended to shorten a two-day summit with EU leaders this month to just a day, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
China also announced anti-dumping duties on European brandy on Friday while exempting major cognac makers that agreed to minimum price levels.
The action followed the EU's decision in 2024 to levy duties as high as 45% on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
European countries have complained that the Chinese government has failed to address overcapacity in sectors including steel, unfair subsidies, and market access to its economy.
Bloomberg
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Over 42,000 players in Ireland scoop prizes in EuroMillions draw
Thousands of Irish EuroMillions players snapped up prizes in Tuesday's draw. While there was no winner of the EuroMillions jackpot, worth life changing €74,533,673, in total, over 42,000 players in Ireland won prizes in the EuroMillions and Plus games - including 10 winners of the Ireland only raffle. The winning numbers in the main draw were: 1, 8, 9, 18, 50 and the Lucky Stars 1 and 5. The lucky winners of the Ireland only raffle each scooped a €5,000 prize in the draw. The following codes are winners: There was also no winner of the Plus top prize, worth €500,000, but again plenty of players won prizes, including 44 who grabbed a €2,000 prize. The winning numbers were: 1, 11, 22, 43 and 49. Meanwhile, the search is on to find Ireland's latest millionaire, who scooped a life-changing prize in a special Lotto Plus Raffle event over the weekend. The player stands to pocket an astonishing €1,000,500 after their ticket was selected in the Saturday, July 5 draw. While the Lotto Plus Raffle typically sees between 60 and 120 winners of €500 in every draw, last night saw one player enjoy an even higher windfall due to the special event. Each of the tickets with the winning Lotto Plus Raffle number drawn were entered into a once-off random draw where one ticket was selected to win an additional prize of €1 million. While every ticket holder who had the winning Raffle number won €500, one player won €1 million, in addition to the usual €500 prize. The winning Raffle number was: 9416. The National Lottery has issued an appeal for all punters to check their numbers carefully. As part of the appeal, they named the shop and location where the golden ticket was purchased. It has been confirmed that the winning ticket was bought at Ely's Centra in Clerihan Village Centre, Co Tipperary, on Thursday, July 3.
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Breaking US Supreme Court clears way for Trump to sack federal workers
The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to resume its plans to carry out mass job cuts and elements of his campaign to downsize and reshape the federal government. The justices lifted San Francisco-based US District Judge Susan Illston's 22 May order that had blocked large-scale federal sackings called "reductions in force" affecting potentially hundreds of thousands of jobs, while litigation in the case proceeds. US President Donald Trump in February announced "a critical transformation of the federal bureaucracy" in an executive order directing agencies to prepare for a government overhaul aimed at significantly reducing the federal workforce and gutting offices opposed by the administration. Workforce reductions were planned at the US Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, State, Treasury, Veterans Affairs and more than a dozen other agencies. The Supreme Court, in a brief unsigned order, said Mr Trump's administration was "likely to succeed on its argument that the executive order" and a memorandum implementing his order were lawful. The court said it was not assessing the legality of any specific plans for layoffs at federal agencies. Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the sole member of the nine-person court to publicly dissent from the decision. Ms Justice Jackson wrote that Ms Justice Illston's "temporary, practical, harm-reducing preservation of the status quo was no match for this court's demonstrated enthusiasm for greenlighting this president's legally dubious actions in an emergency posture". Ms Justice Illston wrote in her ruling that Mr Trump had exceeded his authority in ordering the downsizing, siding with a group of unions, non-profits and local governments that challenged the administration. "As history demonstrates, the president may broadly restructure federal agencies only when authorized by Congress," she wrote. The judge blocked the agencies from carrying out mass layoffs and limited their ability to cut or overhaul federal programs. She also ordered the reinstatement of workers who had lost their jobs, though she delayed implementing this portion of her ruling while the appeals process plays out. Ms Justice Illston's ruling was the broadest of its kind against the government overhaul being pursued by Mr Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a key player in the Republican president's drive to slash the federal workforce. Formerly spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk, DOGE has sought to eliminate federal jobs, shrink and reshape the US government and root out what they see as wasteful spending. Mr Musk formally ended his government work on 30 May and subsequently had a public falling out with Mr Trump.
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
GAA+ revenue taking ‘direct hit' from dodgy boxes as proposed ‘Netflix levy' will raise costs for streamers, pols hear
THE popularity of dodgy boxes is having a 'direct hit' on the GAA's finances as people are illegally streaming games instead of signing up for GAA+, a Dail watchdog heard today. Officials from the Advertisement 1 Almost half a million people in Ireland use a dodgy box, it's been found Credit: Getty The Broadcasting Amendment Bill will force The legislation will also create the possibility of a new content production levy or ' However, Arts Minister Patrick O'Donovan has vowed that he will not introduce this levy while he is in charge due to concerns that it will push up the price of subscriptions for users. Head of GAA+ Noel Quinn told the Advertisement READ MORE IN IRISH NEWS He said that the introduction, timing and collection of any levy should reflect each platform's scale and resources instead of one size fits all. The GAA+ boss noted that any levy would likely have a knock on impact on the price of streaming subscriptions and hurt consumers. In a briefing document provided to the Committee, the GAA Plus boss raised concerns about the prevalence of 'dodgy boxes' that are being used to illegally stream games. Dodgy boxes enable people to access a range of content and TV channels from across the globe illegally by streaming them online through a specific device and app. Advertisement Most read in Irish News GAA+ told the Dail watchdog that it is estimated that half a million people use dodgy boxes in Ireland and the prevalence is having a direct hit on their subscriber growth potential. The briefing document said: 'On the topic of regulation and while it is not directly related to the Revised General Scheme, it would be remiss to make a submission linked to the Irish broadcast sector without raising the major issue of piracy. 'Copyright infringement and intellectual property theft remains a damning thorn in the side of official bodies and requires immediate and serious collective action. 'The proliferation of 'dodgy boxes', which experts conservatively estimate to be in the region of 500,000 in Ireland, is a direct hit to the GAA's potential subscription revenue earning power – a key pillar of its commercial arm that seeks to reinvest 82 per cent of all profits to grassroots clubs, counties and provinces – and merits sustained regulation and consequential policing of the offenders by the highest authorities in conjunction with the effected parties.' Advertisement
