Brussels, 29/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - The divisions are becoming more entrenched between the countries which are more proactive towards unfair trade and the pro-free trade countries, implicitly supported by the more hesitant countries.
A public ministerial exchange of views on the industrial policy of the EU, with particular emphasis on trade defence, which was held on Tuesday 29 May, once again revealed a worrying picture of division among the member states on the stance to be adopted to the unfair trade of third countries. This comes against a backdrop of severe commercial tension with China, exacerbated by the planned anti-dumping duty on its exports of solar panels and the investigation into its telecoms equipment manufacturers.
Following an initial discussion over lunch, European industry ministers, meeting for the second formal session of the Competitiveness Council under the Irish Presidency of the Council of Ministers, assessed the follow-up of the specific initiatives carried out by the Commission in favour of certain industrial sectors facing particular difficulties due to the economic crisis, including steel, automotive, construction and the ship-building industry. Commissioner Tajani confirmed that he will unveil his action plan for the steel industry on 11 June.
Although there is “a consensus on the need to re-industrialise the EU” and a “clear recognition by all member states that trade is an important dynamic”, Irish minister Richard Bruton said, the sensitive issue of trade defence showed that it was still just as controversial.
A brief exchange of views between the European industry ministers on the planned revision of the commercial defence instruments tabled on 10 April by Commissioner Karel De Gucht showed that the division between the pro-free trade countries and the large economies of the South stands firm.
Accordingly, Spain and Italy got behind France in its calls for reinforced trade defence measures, “given the unfairness and lack of reciprocity” of some of the EU's partners, in the words of Arnaud Montebourg (our translation). “Procedures underway show that when measures are too little and too late, they come too late, a bit like the American cavalry”, the French minister stressed, calling for reinforcement of measures which currently affect just 0.25% of imports. “We are very open, very nice, when we see the unfairness of some of our partners. It is not about protectionism, but about bringing back normal and fair competition”, Montebourg continued.
In the opposite corner to the large economies of the South, Sweden, the leader of the traditionally pro-free trade member states, takes the view that the Commission's proposal “does not go in the right direction” and brings about the risk of a rise in protectionism on the part of third countries towards the EU. Previously, its representative had stressed the importance of trade defence instruments which do not penalised EU distributors. Although it did not conceal its “concern” at the Commission's plans, the United Kingdom, another traditionally pro-free trade country, pledged to “work together to define a well-balanced package”.
The new member states, for their part, feel that the current time is not particularly conducive to starting a revision of the trade defence arsenal. “We feel that the current system is balanced and takes account of the divergences in interest between the member states. We feel that this system is one of the most liberal in the world. This is not the time to review it”, Poland argued. Calling for more transparency in the system, the Czech Republic agreed that it was “not the right time to make major changes”, calling for an “open attitude to be kept”. This stance was shared by Slovakia, whose representative said that he was “not sure that there are any grounds to change the current rules”, at the risk of a disadvantage to either of the parties in question, producers and importers.
Following its U-turn over the Chinese solar panels issue, Germany adopted a neutral stance, calling on the Commission to find the “right balance”. “Overly restrictive measures will be negative for our businesses”, stressed the German minister, Philipp Rösler. (EH/transl.fl)