British business groups are pressing Brussels to ensure UK-made components qualify under the EU’s emerging “Made in Europe” industrial policy, warning that excluding them could increase costs and disrupt some of the continent’s most closely integrated supply chains.
The British Chambers of Commerce has backed a joint statement from 14 British chambers operating across Europe calling for the UK to be recognised as a “trusted partner” as the EU develops measures intended to increase domestic industrial production.
The intervention follows the European Commission’s proposed Industrial Accelerator Act, unveiled in March, which would use public procurement and financial incentives to increase demand for European-made products in strategic sectors.
The Commission wants to raise manufacturing’s share of EU gross domestic product from 14.3 per cent in 2024 to 20 per cent by 2035. Its proposals include “Made in EU” provisions covering steel, cement, aluminium, automotive components and net-zero technologies, as Brussels seeks to reduce strategic dependencies and respond to international competition.
The BCC said applying conventional third-country rules to Britain could particularly affect automotive, aerospace, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy and advanced manufacturing, where production chains frequently cross the Channel.
The chambers are asking Brussels to allow UK-origin content to count towards relevant European value-chain and procurement requirements and to establish a broader trusted-partner framework rather than negotiating exemptions product by product.
The issue has also been raised by the UK government. Ministers have told parliament that the Industrial Accelerator Act remains under negotiation and that they are assessing its potential impact on the automotive sector while lobbying EU governments, commissioners and members of the European Parliament.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has meanwhile discussed the EU and UK response to global overcapacity and unfair competition with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen ahead of the next EU-UK summit.
William Bain, the BCC’s head of trade policy, said British and European industries were too closely connected for the UK to be treated as a conventional third country.
“The best answer is a clear trusted-partner framework which recognises UK content, gives firms certainty and avoids a bureaucratic product-by-product approach,” he said.
The BCC has welcomed exemptions for UK companies from some proposed EU procurement restrictions but warned that uncertainty remains over other localisation requirements.
The EU remains the UK’s largest trading partner, making the treatment of British components under the emerging industrial regime an important test of the two sides’ post-Brexit economic relationship.
