Frankfurt am Main – Ahead of the EU summit on competitiveness this Thursday in Belgium, IG Metall is pushing for strong local content rules in Europe. The union criticizes the federal government’s hesitant stance on this issue and the knee-jerk defensive reactions of several German industry and business associations as a naive denial of reality.
“Local content is the logical answer to a world in which tariffs, subsidies and unfair trading practices determine the global economy and destroy our jobs every day. Anyone who does not take this new reality seriously in all its severity is either very poorly informed or ideologically obstinate,” said Jürgen Kerner, second chairman of IG Metall, referring to comments from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and some associations. Before tomorrow’s EU summit, their representatives took a critical stance on an initiative by EU Industry Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné, who wants to strengthen value creation in Europe through clear guidelines.
Kerner accuses the skeptics of denying reality: “We are no longer living in the 90s. As European economies, we are left with two options: We can slowly die in ordoliberal beauty and give up our industrial base or we can finally take the appropriate tools for the challenges of the 2020s – and that means strengthening and promoting value creation and work in Europe with effective rules.”
The EU Commission, under the leadership of Industry Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné, is currently working on the so-called Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), an EU regulation that aims to modernize European industry more quickly, decarbonize it and strengthen it in global competition. A previously announced draft provides for extensive local content requirements. Séjourné himself promoted his approach last week with a guest article in 17 European newspapers: Whenever European public money is used, it must contribute to European production and high-quality jobs, according to his demand. The EU must also apply this logic to foreign direct investment.
IG Metall was one of the first voices to call for local content requirements more than two years ago. The union therefore expressly supports Séjourné’s initiative. Support is now also coming from business: over a thousand business representatives have signed the industrial commissioner’s appeal, including CEOs from Germany. The federal government and key German associations continue to remain defensive.
Jürgen Kerner emphasizes: “The federal government must also finally give up its hesitant attitude and resolutely support and actively promote Commissioner Séjourné’s plans in Brussels. A consistent Made in Europe strategy with clear local content guidelines is long overdue. Linking public funding to production in the EU is a consistent and necessary step to create fair competitive conditions. This is the only way we will strengthen our industrial base, secure added value in Europe, maintain good, collectively agreed jobs and create new ones building for the future.”