WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th February, 2023) US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during talks on implementing the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) with French and German economic ministers stressed the need to stimulate development on both sides of the Atlantic, Treasury said in a readout of the meeting.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and German counterpart Robert Habeck were in Washington to discuss concerns over how the IRA impacts industries in Europe. Earlier in the day, Le Maire in comments to reporters, as quoted by AFP, said that both sides "agreed on the necessity of full transparency on the level of subsidies and tax credits." Habeck said it was important for the US and Europe to avoid the situation becoming a "race to subsidies," the report added.
"Secretary Yellen discussed the United States' implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act and EU's Green Deal Industrial Plan, stressing the need to stimulate innovation and technology development and deployment on both sides of the Atlantic to speed the transition to green energy and meet our collective climate goals," the readout said on Tuesday.
The IRA, signed into law by US President Joe Biden in August 2022, unlocks $369 billion in tax credits and subsidies for US consumers and companies making green tech products. Several EU companies reportedly said they would invest in the US rather than the EU, with rising energy prices at home being a crucial factor.
During a trip to the US in January, French President Emmanuel Macron said the IRA's subsidies to US businesses threaten Europe with "deindustrialization" during difficult times amid the conflict in Ukraine.
