The European Union defends the global free market but applies selective tariffs to protect industries it itself subsidizes. The result is a contradiction: while consumers pay more for imported products, workers see no guarantees of local employment. Industrial policy prioritizes geopolitics over the ecological transition and real labor protection.
Conditional subsidies: the key to a coherent tech industry 🏭
To align rhetoric and practice, the EU should condition its subsidies on verifiable local job creation and strict environmental standards. Without that condition, public funds end up in automation or offshoring. Imposing tariffs without requiring investment in strategic sectors only makes products more expensive, it does not foster innovation nor protect workers. The problem is not external competition, but the lack of an industrial roadmap that links public aid to concrete results in sustainability and employment.
Free market, but not for you, dear consumer 💸
The EU tells you to buy local, but imposes tariffs on Chinese solar panels while subsidizing factories that close the following year. The free market is great, except when a foreign product competes with a subsidized one. Then selective protectionism appears, like a parent who preaches economic independence but pays your rent. In the end, the citizen's wallet foots the bill, but is not invited to decide the menu.