The article examines the mismatch between the limited competence conferred on the Union under the TFEU with respect to industry and the broader legal architecture through which the EU pursues industrial policy objectives. It aims to identify the legal bases underpinning contemporary EU industrial policy and to explain why article 173 TFEU cannot alone account for its current form. The analysis is based on a doctrinal examination of TFEU provisions and a dataset of EU policy documents and legal instruments implementing objectives such as structural transformation, competitiveness, decarbonisation, digitalisation, resilience, and support for strategic sectors. The article analyses the relationship between industry as a TFEU -based competence category and industrial policy as a functional category spanning several fields of Union action. It argues that contemporary EU industrial policy is constructed through a plurality of legal bases rather than a single industrial competence. The conclusion is that the limited scope of article 173 TFEU does not preclude the emergence of an EU industrial policy, but explains its fragmented and cross-sectoral legal form.