The initiative in this matter came from Italy, but Poland, as the largest producer of large household appliances in the EU, will today argue that a washing machine, refrigerator or dishwasher is not just a product on a store shelf, but part of the European industrial base, the loss of which may mean greater dependence on supplies from outside the EU. So it is a matter of economic security.
Poland is the European center of household appliances production
Poland is responsible for over 40 percent of European production, and in the case of some appliances - including washing machines, dryers and dishwashers - Poland's share reaches up to 60 percent.
Despite this, production in Poland is starting to shrink.
Wojciech Konecki, president of APPLiA Polska - an organization associating household appliances manufacturers, says in an interview with an RMF FM journalist that five household appliances factories were closed in Poland last year alone. According to him, further plants are at risk. And the problem concerns not only the factories themselves. There is a network of sub-suppliers around each large plant.
"We die silently," says Konecki.
The industry primarily points to growing competition from China, high energy costs, component prices and costs related to EU regulations. The problem does not only concern Poland, the entire EU is losing production of household appliances. And this is not a small industry. According to a document prepared by France, Germany, Italy and Poland, which was seen by an RMF FM journalist, European household appliances provide about a million jobs and contribute about EUR 80 billion annually to the European economy.
At the same time, European production is systematically losing market share. Over a ten-year period, the share of equipment coming from Asia increased from about 15 to 28 percent, while the share of European production fell from about 81 to 71 percent.
Refrigerator a strategic product?
Manufacturers want politicians to look at household appliances not only as ordinary consumer equipment, but also as an element of European economic security.
Refrigerators are the best example.
This is equipment needed to store food and medicines. If Europe loses its own production capacity, it will become more dependent on supplies of finished equipment, but also spare parts, from Asia.
Konecki points out that today it is difficult to imagine the consequences of a situation in which deliveries of parts to European factories would be stopped due to a trade war, a transport crisis or interruption of supply chains.
"Then the problem would no longer be only the price of the refrigerator. The problem could be its availability, and therefore the issue of food safety, for example," says Konecki.
The industry wants a concrete plan
That is why Poland, Italy, France, Germany, Spain and Slovakia want the European Commission to prepare a special European Plan for the Household Appliances Sector.
Among other things, countries want to improve the functioning of the single market, more effective import control and enforcement of EU regulations, reduce unnecessary administrative burdens and better access to European financing.
The plan would also support investment, production and innovation, the development of recycling and greater transparency about the origin of products.
CBAM – the most important requirement of producers
It is very important for the industry to extend CBAM, i.e. the EU tax that takes into account CO₂ emissions when importing products from outside the EU.
The idea is to cover further ready-made household appliances imported from e.g. China, such as dishwashers, ovens, hoods, cookers and cooktops.
According to APPLiA, these categories of household appliances have been omitted in the current regulations and account for approximately half of the production of large household appliances in Poland. Warsaw will therefore build a coalition on this matter with Germany, Italy and other countries with a large production base of household appliances.
Not only factories, but the entire chain
Poland, together with a group of countries, emphasizes in the document that household appliances are part of a much larger industrial chain - including, among others, steel, plastics, electronics, logistics, repairs and recycling.
Therefore, the loss of a factory means problems not only for its employees. Sub-suppliers, service companies and subsequent elements of the entire chain are also at risk.
