The EU’s Industrial Accelerator Act would impose low-carbon and “Made in Europe” requirements on public procurement and subsidised manufacturing to raise the bloc’s industrial share of GDP and compete with China, yet negotiations remain stalled over the definition of “Made in Europe.”

France wants production confined to the EU or continental Europe (excluding the UK), while Germany and the Commission favour a broader “Made with Europe” group that includes free-trade partners; Spain has floated a three-tier compromise that still leans toward the German approach.

Critics warn that strict origin rules could raise costs, disrupt supply chains and overwhelm limited domestic capacity, while generous exemptions risk rendering the measure voluntary and ineffective.

If the EU Commission didn’t take itself so seriously, you might think that the so-called Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) had been given its name as a self-deprecating joke. Unveiled in March, the initiative aims to boost the bloc’s industrial capacity and decarbonization efforts, in order to compete with China and achieve Brussels’s stringent climate goals; but seven months on, its progress through the EU’s bureaucratic obstacle course is steadily decelerating. Like many EU initiatives before it, the IAA is causing internal division—in this case over the scope of the phrase “Made in Europe.” The question at the center of the dispute is whether protectionist measures will help or harm flagging EU industries.

The main idea behind the IAA is simple. Low-carbon and/or EU-made requirements will be placed on products bought through public procurement or auction, or manufactured with the aid of state subsidies. The aim is to channel more of the €2.6 trillion ($2.9 trillion) spent annually by European public authorities into strategic sectors such as steel, aluminum, cement, electric vehicles, solar and wind power, and hydrogen technology.

Specific criteria will depend on whether the goal is to increase or maintain a sector’s productivity, or to accelerate its decarbonization. Inverters and cells........

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