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Prime Minister Andy Burnham will urge the European Union not to shut the UK out of its “Made in Europe” public procurement scheme when he meets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
Burnham is expected to warn of the risk of “collateral damage” to UK industries from the EU scheme, which is designed to boost domestic production and shield European companies from unfair competition from China.
“Europe’s argument is not with us. We both suffer the same effects as other countries, particularly (in) steel,” Burnham reportedly told journalists accompanying him on his trip to New York on Tuesday.
“We are making the argument: we are not your enemies here,” he added. “We are not the problem. Made in Europe is dealing with a different problem.”
The UK’s involvement in the scheme is being negotiated as part of broader talks on a reset in the relationship with Brussels, which successive Labour governments in London have been attempting to repair after years of post-Brexit animosity.
A UK-EU summit scheduled for late July was abruptly cancelled when former prime minister Keir Starmer announced plans to step down in June, paving the way for Burnham to take the keys to 10 Downing Street uncontested.
Both sides are yet to decide on a new date for the summit, which is expected to take place before the end of the year.
EU officials say that the Burnham government is now prioritising the “Made in Europe” scheme in talks, which also cover agri-food trade and a visa scheme for young people.
Burnham’s minister in charge of EU relations, Hamish Falconer, raised the prospect of a special carve-out for the UK from the scheme when he met with the bloc’s trade chief, Maroš Šefčovič, in Brussels earlier this month.
Chancellor John Healey is also understood to have pushed for a special arrangement for the UK when he travelled to Dublin for a meeting of EU economic and finance ministers last week.
Burnham said on Tuesday that he would present some of the UK’s concerns in a “constructive spirit” in his meeting with the Commission chief, while at the same time “working towards what we hope will be a successful EU-UK summit later this year”.
He added that the UK’s position had “considerable support” among EU member states.
France, a major proponent of the “Made in Europe” scheme, has been in talks with the UK government over a possible resolution and has in the past expressed openness to including partner countries, including the UK, in the scheme.
Brussels says it needs to urgently address unfair Chinese competition, and the bloc has set an October deadline for “tangible” results in talks with Beijing to address the EU’s ballooning trade deficit, which risks wiping out manufacturing industries.