Paris (AFP)
The dependence of the European industry on electronic components from Asia makes it "vulnerable", regretted Monday the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, at a time when the global shortage of semiconductors puts the shutdown of many automobile factories. .
"Our dependence on Asia is excessive and unacceptable (...) it makes us vulnerable", declared the minister during a press point after an exchange with the European Commissioner at the Thierry Breton Internal Market.
He warned in particular that Europe and France should "take care to avoid the takeover of strategic companies" by foreign competitors.
"There are a number of buyout projects, on which we are not favorable," insisted Bruno le Maire.
He put forward "either the competition law, or the texts that exist at European level, or at national level on foreign investments" to avoid such takeovers.
"France has already identified 18 projects" which could be "eligible" for this project, said Bruno Le Maire.
According to him, this issue is all the more urgent with the shortage of semiconductors which currently affects the world, and which penalizes the automotive sector in particular.
In Germany, automobile production fell by 23% in January 2021, notably due to days of short-time working in factories linked to this shortage.
In the United States, General Motors and Ford have already had to suspend production at several factories and warned that it is expected to cost them several billion dollars.
US President Joe Biden has indicated that his administration is planning to intervene to unblock supply chains, for example by developing production in the United States or by strengthening "cooperation" with its partners.
France has for its part launched a crisis unit on the subject which brings together the electronics and automotive sectors.
The objective in this "emergency" situation is "to have a better allocation of components", Bruno Le Maire explained on Monday.
© 2021 AFP