04European Union / United Kingdom · Business and trade
EU industrial policy forces Britain to choose a China line
Facts
EU procurement and subsidy rules would favour European-made clean-technology goods; a France-Germany compromise could treat Britain as trusted if London aligns with EU tariffs on Chinese products.
InterpretationBrussels can trade market access for strategic alignment, while London can offer scale and supply-chain depth. The constraint is parliamentary and national approval on both sides. Protection may secure capacity, but it also raises costs and risks shielding weak producers—counterevidence to a blanket buy-European policy.