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Ref. Ares(2017)3017955 - 15/06/2017
Ref. Ares(2020)273419 - 16/01/2020
Ref. Ares(2020)5354371 - 08/10/2020
Putting Europe in top gear
Speech by Cecilia Malmström
European Commissioner for Trade
European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA)
Brussels, 1 June 2017
Art 4.1(b)
, ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for inviting me here today.
According your own figures, EU production is responsible for over one in
five of the world's cars.
Alongside related services, it is responsible for 1 in 20 EU jobs.
The annual value of our exports, €140 billion, could almost pay off the euro
area public deficit at a stroke; and we export three and a half times as much
as we import.
It's a sector that invests in innovation, as the next generation of cars come on
the market; green, digital, self-driving.
More than that, it is a sector which embodies the phenomenon we call
globalisation.
We policy makers talk about the complexity of global value chains; you live
them, every day.
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The cars you make, the steel and parts and technology you make them from,
the machinery and workers and factories who assemble them, the capital that
funds them, the customers that buy them…
… all may come from different countries and corners of the world.
That complexity shows the hollowness of the simple slogans of
protectionists.
After all, the biggest exporter of cars from the US is a European company, a
factory built with European investment.
Trade isn't a game you win or lose. Rebuild barriers and we all lose.
Likewise, this sector sees every day the non-tariff barriers we are constantly
identifying and working together to remove.
Our policy challenge is your bottom line.
Unfair taxes and subsidies, unnecessary rules and restrictions hamper your
opportunities and your business.
And for all these reasons, this is an industry that has benefited hugely from
our trade agenda, and our commitment to commerce that is open, rules-based
and fair.
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So let me set out a bit for you where we are with our trade agenda.
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With many of the world's other biggest economies, talks continue.
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If Japan is the fourth biggest economic player on the planet, the fifth is
Mercosur. For vehicles and parts alone, tariffs to this region cost EU
companies €1 billion.
We relaunched our trade talks just over a year ago, and there is constructive
engagement across the board.
Political messages seem to be filtering down to the technical level. I hope
that, as an EU industry standing to benefit, you will also be lending your
support.
In all these talks, of course, we will continue to negotiate in line with the
approach set out in our 2015 "Trade for All" strategy.
To bring down trade barriers, helping businesses grow and create jobs;
helping consumers get lower prices, better choice.
Protecting and promoting our standards.
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A trade policy based on our values, and negotiated in transparency.
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Electronically signed on 07/10/2020 11:24 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 11 of Commission Decision C(2020) 4482
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