Brussels has postponed a plan to prioritise “made in Europe” products until next year after a fierce backlash by some governments and European Commission departments.

The controversial proposal, which aims to dictate minimum levels of domestic content for products such as cars to cut reliance on China, was scheduled to be agreed on Wednesday. That has been put back to January 28, according to an internal calendar seen by the FT.

It is a blow for French commissioner Stéphane Séjourné after decades of efforts by Paris to protect domestic production from cheap imports from Asia, particularly in clean technologies and some heavy industries. Germany, long opposed to the idea, has recently softened as it seeks to stem the decline of its car and other industries, according to senior officials in Berlin.