EU Commissioner stated ‘Europe first’ position in response to Donald Trump

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The EU’s new industry chief has called for a “Europe First” strategy to be implemented across key business sectors, to prevent the bloc becoming collateral damage in the global trade war potential sparked by Donald Trump.

Vice President of the European Commission Stéphane SéjournéThe former French foreign minister and close ally of President Emmanuel Macron told the Financial Times that Europe must act “offensively” to advance its strategic business interests and avoid being swamped by subsidized imports. Strong level from China.

“Fundamentally, I believe Europe has everything to gain from opening up to the world,” said Séjourné, who is in charge of the bloc’s industrial policy. But “when China says ‘Made in China’ or America says ‘America First’, we must say: ‘Made in Europe’ or ‘Europe First'”.

new one mission has pledged to restore the bloc’s competitiveness over the next five years, a task that will become more difficult if US President-elect Donald Trump carries out his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on all imports, cancel trade deals and cut regulations on American businesses.

Séjourné said his “biggest fear” is that Europe will become “a secondary victim of a global trade war.”

“If all world markets close, the only open market left cannot be the European market,” he said. “If the US closes its doors to Latin America, closes its doors to India, closes its doors to China, the European market cannot be the destination for all the overcapacity in the world, otherwise we will fall. into a state of short-term economic crisis.

Brussels, he said, must send “a firm message to the United States to tell them that, today, we see no reason to discount our trade discussions and trade exchanges.” . “The new administration must realize that. . . They also gain nothing from a trade war.”

He dismissed criticism that the EU is pursuing a protectionist agenda.

“It is absolutely not about protectionism because Europe is really not interested in a global trade war,” he added. “We have the strategic and technological interests to develop our own industries, create jobs and grow.”

Séjourné acknowledged the “negative music” about the European economy, which has been hit in recent weeks by layoffs at automakers and steelmakers, as well as the collapse of the Swiss electric battery maker Northvolt, considered the continent’s green transformation leader.

He said the commission will focus its efforts on strategic sectors including steel, auto manufacturing and aerospace as well as clean technology.

“It is necessary to do so in a targeted manner, into key strategic areas. But you have to do it offensively, not defensively,” he said.

Séjourné argues that “historic” industries must be protected because they provide “very important support” for clean technologies critical to the green transition.

“In fact [steelmaking] strategic because there is no wind turbine without steel. It is impossible to produce cars without steel,” he said. “So, if we want to develop other industries, we need the steel industry.”

At the same time, clean technologies such as hydrogen and digital technology can be “plugged in” to the heaviest polluting industries to cut emissions.

The new commission, which takes office on December 1, will identify key areas in the first 100 days, he said. Another key policy effort would be to eventually bring together the bloc’s capital markets to create a better investment climate – a long-standing ambition that has been stymied by opposition from member states .

“We want to give life to European industrial policy and an economic doctrine, which we have not had so far,” he said. “Up to now, we have adopted many different measures that are sometimes incoherent with each other.”

In a major blow to Brussels’ current industrial strategy, Northvolt, the EU’s best-funded startup, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, resulting in losses of hundreds of millions of euros to investors including Goldman Sachs and the EU itself. secured a loan worth about 300 million euros for the company.

Séjourné said he wanted to reassure investors that “Europe will not abandon the battery industry.”

He added: “We must not regret having established this sector, for helping and subsidizing them and most of all when they encounter technological difficulties, do not let everything we have done in the past The past is destroyed because of the first difficulty.