12 November 2020, 15:26
On 17th June 2020 the European Commission published a White Paper on levelling the playing field as regards foreign subsidies and opened a public consultation with stakeholders.
This White Paper is the Commission’s response to requests by the European business community to address the issue of foreign government subsidies. This first consultation could lead to a legislative proposal in the next year. A debate on this topic is needed as the EU rules on state aids, trade defence and investment screening do not tackle the issue of foreign government subsidies.
Orgalim is in the process of finalising its own position on this matter.
In the meantime, VDMA, the German mechanical engineering association – affiliated to CECE – published its response. In this document, VDMA affirmed that efforts to tackle illegal government subsidies should be done at WTO level or via the EU bilateral and regional trade agreements. This could be evidently the case of the ongoing negotiations on an EU-China investment agreement.
However, under certain conditions VDMA supports legislative action at EU level. Specifically, VDMA supports the introduction of a uniform legal instrument which should intervene when third-country subsidies violate the EU rules on state aids. Only the European Commission would have the responsibility of the enforcement.
Source: CECE - Committee for European Construction Equipment