The origin of the products has several dimensions

The Prime Minister presented the broad guidelines of the programme of reconquest of the internal market ... which will support projects promoting resources and using the national qualifications. "We are on December 2, 1981. Twenty-eight years and competitive disinflation later, can be read on the site of the Government that "it is important to encourage producers to be more accountable and transparent to the geographical origin of the products they sell" and that he intends to promote the marking "made in France".

When the industry is going wrong, the excess of imports is incriminated, in phase with an overwhelming view of the French. According to a Sofres survey conducted in 30 to March 31, only a French ten considered that the priority of French companies was stand up to international competition by producing in low-cost locations. Conversely, 88 of those polled responded that the priority was to produce in France and that the role of the State was to encourage this by aid for the relocation and a label "made in France".

The origin of the products has several dimensions. Leave aside the products with a geographical origin controlled representing only a small part of our consumption. For the rest, is above all a question of safety, quality, safety. Health and technical standards manage international trade in these goods, and Europe is in this area equipped; "made in France" brings here further warranty. The second dimension is the cost of transporting products and more generally the content carbon in our consumption, unfortunately difficult to establish. The third dimension is social: working conditions are generally less good in low-cost countries. But here the more direct action is to impose upon distributors one more attention to these aspects. Finally, the last dimension concerns the industrial activity in France and employment.

The new Observatory made in France noted that, in ten years the share of products produced in France had retreated in the internal market while French producers losing export market shares, so that the report of the production for domestic consumption was degraded. In reality, the problem is more complex, and this has not escaped to the subtitled Jego report "end anonymous globalization." It may well be that French products are not French, there is the good sort of deception. Observatory noted here that, in ten years, the share of components imported in France production increased at the expense of added value in France. That the Observatory is quite rightly is neither new nor isolated. Results recently presented by the US Commission for international trade (Usitc) show that, at the global level and on average, slightly more than 20 of the value of exports is intermediate imports. The highest is the Mexico (50) and lowest in Europe (approximately 15). This estimate incorporates the fact that a part of our imports comprend of domestic added value, which must be counted against.

In reality, the problem is the export. To the extent where the France is only 5 of income - and therefore demand - at the global level, the equation of industrial employment is ultimately very complex: how to convince foreign consumers to buy products that are manufactured, at least in part, in France Many French brands attest to know-how, quality, innovation making them attractive in the most dynamic markets. More generally, it is the quality of the products and the ability to offer competitive conditions which are hallmarks of success for high-income economies. Let us not forget that German commercial success in the export relies on a high perceived quality and increasing importation of components from countries with lower wage costs.

We remember that surfing with humor on French opinion, a car manufacturer had promoted its vehicles in France with the slogan "made in quality". If be grammatically correct, this formula summarizes the necessary orientation of our industrial policy.