The arrows towards the EU were launched by SEA Europe, the European Ships and Maritime Equipment Association.
This time, the new Economic Security Doctrine recently presented by the Commission was in the crosshairs. According to SEA Europe, the announcement of this specific initiative “while referring to risks that also affect the shipbuilding industry, particularly third-country practices that lead to distortions in global and regional markets, does not propose targeted measures, nor specific proposals for restoring fair competition, nor (trade defense) tools to mitigate the impact of third-country state intervention in Europe’s strategic industries”.
SEA Europe further emphasizes that, particularly regarding the shipbuilding industry, the Commission is failing once again to offer a solution to the long-standing and known gap in the sector’s trade protection, while making no effort to make Regulation (EU) /1035 on protection against harmful ship pricing enforceable.
“For these reasons, SEA Europe considers that the Economic Security Doctrine does not meet the requirements of the current geopolitical framework. Instead of offering a strong response to the structural challenges our sector faces, the document risks turning into a strategy that recognizes the risks but takes no action to address them,” states Christophe Tytgat, Secretary General of SEA Europe.
