Bruxelles spinge affinché il 70% dei beni critici siano “made in Europe”

Brussels is considering setting “made in Europe” targets of up to 70 per cent for the content of certain products such as cars, as it pushes to prioritise domestic goods and cut reliance on China.

An EU official said that the scope of the legislation would mirror China’s key industrial policies “Made in China 2025” and “China Standards 2035”, which pushed foreign companies towards joint ventures with Chinese businesses in order to access its market. “What we are trying to propose is a delicate balance between a much needed protection of our industry and openness, which is dear to Europe’s DNA,” the person said.

Three EU officials said that local content thresholds of up to 70 per cent were being discussed as part of the industrial policy plan but that the targets would vary, depending on how critical the sector was and how heavy the dependency was.

For cars, for example, government incentives would only be granted to vehicles that met the benchmarks. Batteries would also be required to have a certain level of European content, one official said. 

The measure would apply only to the use of public money, such as procurement contracts and state-backed loans and grants. There would also be an analysis of how much production capacity the EU had for each component, another official said.

World Trade Organization rules generally forbid favouring domestic producers, though there are exemptions for security related reasons. 

Solar panel inverters, which have shutdown mechanisms that could prove to be a security risk, may have to be mostly European made under the new rules. “That’s when you need more domestic content,” one EU official said.

High energy prices and the pressure of Donald Trump’s tariff regime have led to EU companies becoming increasingly reliant on cheaply produced Chinese products. In 2024 China was the largest exporter of technologies such as solar panels and biofuels to the EU and the second largest for wind turbines.

The commission’s proposal is expected to include provisions to mandate public bodies to buy European and efforts to incentivise lead markets for clean technologies. Officials are discussing a voluntary “green steel” label to encourage manufacturers to buy more of the bloc’s lower carbon but more expensive steel production.

A multi-pronged approach and doing what’s possible within the current treaties. The European Commission just released more detailed information about the plans: 

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_2889

*initiatives are at various stages of preparation and implementation, including the SAFE Regulation, Industrial Accelerator Act, Cloud and AI Development Act, CHIPS 2.0 Act, Net Zero Industry Act, Critical Raw Materials Act, Start-up and Scale-up Strategy, and EU Space Programmes.*

Does it include UK?