Brussels' forthcoming Industrial Accelerator Act, as currently drafted, is set to embed "Made in Europe" criteria into procurement and subsidy instruments to boost industrial resilience and competitiveness, but its final scope will determine whether it will help strengthen Europe's manufacturing base or drive higher costs, internal divisions and renewed transatlantic trade tensions. The European Commission is set to present its Industrial Accelerator Act on March 4. According to leaked drafts, it will introduce "Made in Europe" local-content requirements for products receiving support through public procurement and manufacturing subsidies, alongside "low-carbon" eligibility thresholds for key industrial inputs. The proposal would require electric, hybrid and fuel-cell cars benefiting from public support falling within the scope of the regulation to be assembled in the European Union and to contain at least 70% of components by value, excluding batteries, sourced within the bloc. Separate origin requirements would apply to defined core battery components. It...
