Excluding UK from ‘Made in Europe’ law will hurt entire EU car industry, Mercedes boss warns
Ola Källenius says it will ‘weaken the industry on both sides’ ahead of act intended to counter non-EU competition Locking the UK out of the EU’s flagship industrial “Made in Europe” legislation would amount to a “deliberate choice” by EU leaders to “hurt” the car industry across the bloc, the head of Mercedes-Benz has said. Speaking in his capacity as president of the European Automobile…
Mercedes-Benz head Ola Källenius has warned that excluding the UK from the EU's "Made in Europe" industrial law would harm the entire European car industry. Speaking at a briefing in Brussels, Källenius, who leads the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), said such a move would "weaken the industry on both sides."
The "Made in Europe" law targets non-EU competition, mainly China, which has a £1bn daily trade surplus with the EU. However, the legislation could negatively impact the UK, Norway, Turkey, and Switzerland. Källenius emphasized that the legislation is about industrializing Europe and building local supply chains. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to push for UK inclusion in the legislation during the UK-EU summit on November 20, but resistance from France may hinder progress.
The EU has urged the UK to impose tariffs on Chinese vehicles to strengthen its case for inclusion in the "Made in Europe" law. However, the UK business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, stated that such a move is not currently on the table. The ACEA is also lobbying for a suspension of plans to introduce 10% tariffs on UK and EU electric vehicles (EVs) imported to each other's markets, as the deadline for this reduction is less than three months away.
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