European industrial goods must be given preferential treatment across the continent, which requires getting rid of “obsolete dogmas”, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told journalists on Wednesday, making this his “political fight” in the run-up to the EU elections.
“Can you imagine for one second that the Chinese government would give public money to industrial production that has no Chinese content?” Le Maire asked as he unveiled new funding measures for France’s green transition as part of its newly unveiled 2024 budget on Wednesday.
An extra €7 billion has been added to next year’s budget to focus specifically on the green transition, including funding for a new ‘green bonus’ for first-time buyers of electric vehicles (EVs).
To be eligible, however, CO2 emissions from the entire car production cycle will be assessed – ultimately taking aim at China and encouraging EU-made vehicles.
“We will be the first EU member state to provide cash incentives to EVs that respect the highest environmental standards,” the French minister said, calling for a radical overhaul in the EU’s industrial strategy.
“Only in Europe do we continue to think that we can pour public money into the EU, but also American or Chinese factories. Well, I’m saying: ‘stop!’”.
France has continuously been a key proponent of an ambitious EU industrial strategy – as its industrial make-up dwindled in the past 40 years compared to Germany.
Earlier in September, Le Maire was in Berlin to convince his Economy and Finance ministerial counterparts, Robert Habeck and Christian Lindner, to strive for a more “ambitious” strategy that would fend off the US’s $400-billion tax break and investment Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) package, and increase the EU’s trade defence tools against China.
France was also behind the European Commission’s decision to open an ‘anti-subsidy’ probe into unfair Chinese competition in the EV market – as China’s EU market share will increase from 8% to 15% by 2025.
“The EU must be able to fight back,” Le Maire had said at the time, adding that it must be “determined to defend [its] own economic interests”.
“We must favour European industry […] and fight to keep our factories, our workers, our skills and our technologies on European soil,” he added on Wednesday.
(Theo Bourgery-Gonse | Euractiv.fr)
