France has backed away from blocking the UK’s inclusion in EU industrial rules for carmaking, provided Britain matches the bloc on tariffs and other trade defences against Chinese EVs.
01Summary
- 01France has dropped its opposition to UK inclusion in the EU’s ‘Made in Europe’ rules for the car sector, according to a Franco-German paper seen by the Guardian.
- 02The draft Industrial Accelerator Act would let European partners that were in the EU single market on 01/01/2020 opt in, which would cover the UK and Norway.
- 03The opt-in would require full reciprocity, including alignment with EU trade defence measures such as the tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles imposed in 2024.
- 04UK trade minister Anas Sarwar said Britain and the EU must ‘work together and act in lockstep’ to tackle China’s dominance in the automotive sector.
- 05Downing Street said it welcomed the objective if confirmed, calling it good news for the British automotive industry, jobs and investment.
02Why it matters
The decision could affect whether British carmakers stay tied into European supply chains or risk losing trade worth billions of pounds. It also shows how tariffs on Chinese vehicles are becoming a key test of UK-EU co-operation.
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