Brussels, Dec 4 (AFP\/APP):EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday the bloc must act to address “distortions” created by Washington’s $430-billion plan to spur climate-friendly technologies in the United States.<\/p>\n
The European Union must “take action to rebalance the playing field where the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) or other measures create distortions”, von der Leyen said in a speech at the College of Europe in the Belgian city of Bruges.<\/p>\n
EU countries have poured criticism on Washington’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act, seeing it as anti-competitive and a threat to European jobs, especially in the energy and auto sectors.<\/p>\n
The act, designed to accelerate the US transition to a low-carbon economy, contains around $370 billion in subsidies for green energy as well as tax cuts for US-made electric cars and batteries. <\/p>\n
Von der Leyen said the EU had to work with the US “to address some of the most concerning aspects of the law”.<\/p>\n
She said that Brussels must also “adjust” its own rules to facilitate public investment in the environmental transition and “re-assess the need for further European funding of the transition”.<\/p>\n
French President Emmanuel Macron seized an opportunity on a state visit to Washington for talks with US President Joe Biden last week to air deep grievances over US-EU trade.<\/p>\n
The White House touts the IRA as a groundbreaking effort to reignite US manufacturing and promote renewable technologies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brussels, Dec 4 (AFP\/APP):EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday the bloc must act to address “distortions” created by Washington’s $430-billion plan to spur climate-friendly technologies in the United States. The European Union must “take action to rebalance the playing field where the IRA […]<\/p>\n
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