European Parliament

‘Made in Germany’ under pressure

Published on 18 October 2013

"Germany industry will have to adapt to stricter regulations for products carrying a ‘Made in Germany’ label," explains Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. On October 17, the Internal Market Committee of the European Parliament voted to tighten existing product safety and market surveillance rules.

As it stands, manufacturers can label that items are "Made in” any particular country, explains the Frankfurt daily. If the Parliament’s proposal is approved by the Council of Ministers, manufacturers will no longer be able to make use of “Made in the EU” or “Made in a member state” labels for products that have not been “substantially processed” at “a key stage of their production” in the jurisdiction in question.

This will hardly be to the taste of German manufacturers, points out FAZ, because they will no longer be able to make use of "Made in Germany" labels on goods that for the most part been produced elsewhere, particularly in China and North Africa. German industry thus runs the risk of losing its main trump card. However, even if it is approved by EU institutions, the project is unlikely to come into force before the European elections in May, 2014.

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