‘Made in Europe’ law sets stage for an economic showdown with China

Amid the trade war with the United States, the last thing China needs is an economic confrontation with the European Union – Beijing’s major export destination. But with the EU seemingly determined to protect its market by introducing measures that many see as controversial, an economic stand-off appears inevitable.

China, however, sees Brussels’ initiative as institutional discrimination. It has urged the EU to remove what it sees as discriminatory requirements against foreign investors, local content requirements, mandatory intellectual property and technology transfer requirements, and public procurement restrictions from the legislation.

From a Chinese perspective, the EU’s move can certainly be regarded as discrimination. But non-EU European countries may also have grounds to view it as unfair treatment.

French liberal Christophe Grudler, a member of the European Parliament, will lead negotiations on the Made in Europe law. He argues that it should include closely integrated countries such as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. But what about the Balkan nations that have spent decades in the EU’s “eternal waiting room”, hoping to join the bloc? And why does Made in Europe not include countries such as Ukraine, Moldova or Belarus?