Germany and France are preparing a proposal responding to the US inflation program
Germany and France insist on improving the status of European products in the controversial US anti-inflation Act.
On Monday, in Brussels, a plan was published in this regard, prepared by German Economy Minister Robert Habeck and his French counterpart, Bruno Le Maire.
The plan includes envisions for a European response to the US program.
The program provides for billions of dollars in investments in the field of climate support and limits subsidies and tax breaks to companies that use American products or companies that produce in the United States.
The program has been met with much criticism in Europe, where Europeans fear damage to their local businesses.
The US President Joe Biden has defended the law, but recently said there are minor shortcomings that can be discussed and resolved.
Habeck and Le Maire now insist that the exceptions stipulated in the law apply to the European Union as well, and demand that the tax exemptions provided for American products also be opened to European products, and they also demand that the American and European sides exchange information regularly about government support granted to green technologies.
Habeck and Le Maire didn’t rule out that an economic partnership with the United States would be concluded in the future in developing common standards and mutual recognition of green technology standards.
The two ministers added that the EU must move away from fossil raw materials in order to achieve climate goals while maintaining a strong industrial base that includes well-paying jobs and a wide range of companies.
The two ministers demanded that the EU rules on state aid for green technologies – that is, environmentally and climate-friendly technologies – be drafted more flexibly, that the time allotted for obtaining licenses be halved, and that EU funds be pumped into these areas more specifically.
