The United Kingdom’s (UK) chancellor is to warn the European Union (EU) not to lock the UK out of its scheme to protect industries from unfair Chinese competition.
John Healey will push for closer UK-EU partnerships on tech, defence, and manufacturing at a meeting of EU finance ministers in Dublin on Friday.
But he will call on the EU to design its “Made in Europe” programme in a way that deepens ties with the UK “rather than erecting new barriers”, Treasury sources told the BBC.
Officials said Healey will tell European finance ministers it is important to “learn lessons” after talks collapsed last year for Britain to join an EU defence loans scheme.
That dispute centred on how much money the UK would pay to join.
The “Made in Europe” policy, officially called the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), is currently being considered by the bloc and aims to protect EU manufacturing with restrictions on goods from outside countries.
There is concern in government the scheme could lock British firms out of European supply chains.
Treasury officials said Healey wanted to reduce the economic impact of Brexit and build closer ties with the EU, but not at any cost to the UK.
Former UK trade negotiator, Sir Crawford Falconer said the EU’s original plan would have allowed free trade partners – such as the UK – to be included in the scheme but a subsequent proposal recommended limiting membership to EU nations.
Sir Crawford said that caused “everyone to hit the panic button,” adding: “If we weren’t able to complete on equal terms, it would put the viability of some of our production facilities at risk.”
Earlier this year, the Nissan car company said: “EU and UK manufacturing are deeply intertwined, and restricting eligibility for public support to EU only assembly would damage competitiveness, disrupt integrated supply chains, and undermine Europe’s EV transition.”
Healey said: “The next chapter of Britain’s growth story will be written in more places.
“To me, closer ties with the EU means British businesses – wherever they are based across the UK – get better access to both the supply chains and the customers they need to grow.”
Healey will use the meeting in Dublin to focus on tech firms, defence companies, and manufacturing.