Experts: Excluding Turkey from the 'Made in Europe' program could hit EU industry

The dispute over the boundaries of 'Made in Europe'

The European Commission has proposed the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) — a plan to strengthen the EU's industrial base, which envisions raising the share of manufacturing in the bloc's GDP from 14.3% to 20% by 2035 against the backdrop of decarbonization, geopolitical tensions and global competition. As Anadolu reports, the sticking point of the proposal has become the definition of 'Made in EU': experts warn that excluding deeply integrated industrial partners, above all Turkey, could undermine the European Union's own production ambitions.

Why Turkey is named a key candidate

Noah Gordon, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, called Turkey one of the most important potential participants in the framework, pointing to its customs union with the EU, geographic proximity and industrial capacity. According to him, Turkey has already introduced protective measures against Chinese electric vehicles, meaning it is partly addressing the very problems the EU's proposed restrictions target. He suggested that in the first stage the framework should include Turkey, Japan, South Korea and the EFTA countries, including Norway and Switzerland, with the possibility of revising their status, and warned against opening new trade disputes: the EU already has strained relations with China and the US.

The auto industry: investments have already been made

Maria Linkova-Nijs, head of policy and strategy at the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), stressed that the IAA should be understood as an incentive for local production, not as a punishment of trading partners or a restriction of market access. She called for not ignoring the investments that European manufacturers have already made in neighboring countries, naming the United Kingdom, Turkey and Morocco. The issue is especially sensitive for heavy transport — trucks and buses — whose production networks are tightly integrated between the EU and Turkey. In her assessment, the European auto industry simultaneously faces decarbonization, supply chain resilience and the need to keep prices affordable, while the EU passenger car market is still roughly 3 million vehicles below its 2019 level.

The Franco-German compromise left Turkey in question

In October, France and Germany reached a compromise on automotive and industrial policy aimed at strengthening the position of European manufacturers in competition with China. Germany advocated a broader approach taking into account key partners outside the EU, while France pushed for a stricter definition. The compromise reached reportedly supports including the United Kingdom, but Turkey's right to participate remains uncertain. Gordon also expressed doubts about the revision of the 2035 emissions rules: under the Commission's proposal, automakers must cut emissions from new vehicles by 90%, offsetting the remainder, including with low-carbon materials, but the Franco-German agreement reportedly removes the offset requirement — which, in his view, could weaken demand for 'green' steel and aluminum and harm the goals of the IAA.

What is at stake for bilateral trade

The scale of integration explains why the dispute affects specific industries. The EU is Turkey's largest trading partner: bilateral trade turnover in 2025 reached $233 billion, of which about $62 billion comes from the automotive sector, including finished vehicles and spare parts. According to ACEA, in 2025 Turkey became the third-largest export market for cars from the EU, accounting for 11.1% of the bloc's export market, up from 8.3% in 2024. Gordon separately pointed to the risks of the proposed aluminum requirements: if EU supplies are restricted to a narrow circle of partners, costs will rise, since aluminum production is extremely energy-intensive and energy in the EU is expensive — he named Turkey and Norway as potential partners for the European electric vehicle industry. Against this backdrop, an alternative formula, 'Made with Europe,' emerged in the discussion, allowing trusted partners to participate in supply chains; manufacturers with large operations in Turkey would be more vulnerable to restrictive rules than companies whose production is concentrated within the EU.