UK Urges EU to Keep Trade Open Amid ‘Made in Europe’ Concerns

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(Bloomberg) — Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves urged the European Union officials to maintain trade links with the UK amid concerns that the bloc could adopt more protectionist industrial policies that penalize British companies.

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Reeves and Business Secretary Peter Kyle “discussed global economic trade” and “the importance of open trade” in meetings with the European Commission’s trade and economy chiefs, Maros Sefcovic and Valdis Dombrovskis, in London on Tuesday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman Tom Wells said.

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The British ministers told their EU counterparts they should remain “focused on removing barriers to trade,” Wells said, when asked about a Bloomberg report on concerns within the UK government about the bloc’s “Made in Europe” initiative.

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Bloomberg reported on Monday that British officials were worried EU proposals could exclude UK companies from supply chains in key sectors, derailing a reset in post-Brexit relations and potentially costing firms billions of pounds.

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The EU has been considering a range of proposals to promote the use of European goods and services, in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs and wider geopolitical and trade uncertainty. That’s been most evident in its steel industry, which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has sought to protect with tariff increases and tightened quotas on foreign steel.

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Possible moves being discussed have the potential to disrupt EU wide supply chains in a way that would be particularly damaging for car manufacturers that have sites in both Britain and Europe, such as Stellantis, Volkswagen, BMW and Ford, people familiar with the matter said. The advanced technology and green energy industries could also be impacted, they said.

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Britain is trying to dissuade the European Commission and EU member states from pursuing a course it fears could hurt both sides, the people said. Weakening UK-EU supply chains in advanced technology would be against the interests of both, damaging cooperation in a vital field and risking aiding competitors, they added. 

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The commission’s proposals for the Industrial Accelerator Act, which have been delayed until later this month, are expected to set further requirements for goods in sectors including cars and green technology to be EU-made in order to receive certain subsidies. 

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Britain is concerned that exclusion from the Made in Europe initiative would disrupt UK-EU supply chains, including those for automakers, the people said. Tech and green-energy companies could also be impacted, they added, noting that the UK imports wind turbine parts from the EU and exports heat pump technology to the continent.

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