As calls to reduce Europe’s dependence in its supply of medical goods are being heard across the Union (see EUROPE 12471/7, 12468/15), EUROPE has been studying two analyses of European trade in medical equipment - one from the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), published on 21 April, the other from the Bruegel think tank, dated 20 April. Both argue that self-sufficiency is the wrong approach.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Union, political leaders have experienced an abrupt awakening: shortages of medical products quickly emerged, sometimes aggravated by restrictions on exports of medical products.
In the EU, governments have therefore taken emergency initiatives to produce medical products. On 15 March, the Commission in turn proposed authorisation requirements for the export of some of these products from the EU (see EUROPE 12467/7, 12447/7).
Voices are now being raised to ensure European self-sufficiency and to repatriate the production of these products.
Complex value chains
In its analysis, the EPRS reveals that European imports of medical equipment - pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, personal protective equipment (PPE), and medical supplies - are largely dependent on only five trading partners that supply 75% of its equipment. They are Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, China and Singapore.
However, Parliament’s study points out that production of these products is much more dispersed and the production chains much more complex than the direct import figures suggest.
That is why Parliament’s departments consider that the search for self-sufficiency would be both complex and costly, given the wide range of countries of origin.
“The form the next epidemic will take is uncertain, while maintaining entire supply chains for a large number of products in the EU would be prohibitively expensive and could lead to major international tension”, agree the Bruegel researchers, who are calling for import substitution to be used with caution and only for specific products.
A net exporter
Both analyses emphasise that the EU is, in fact, a net exporter of all these products.
A policy of repatriating production could ultimately threaten European industries with a backlash, Bruegel researchers believe. As one of the largest producers of medical products, the EU has a strong interest in maintaining an unhindered global market for its products.
The EU is facing particular difficulty in obtaining low-tech medical supplies, notes Bruegel’s analysis, which points out that once a vaccine is identified, Europe will be in a more favourable position, as it exports around 30% of all vaccines worldwide.
Rather, the authors call instead on the Union to adopt a targeted response and to better prepare for emergencies, in particular through better storage, which could be managed via rescEU and the European Civil Protection Mechanism. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)