European Union and US officials expect to reach agreement that would grant EU companies, including electric car makers, the same status as US ones in the US market, to avoid what the EU calls discrimination against its producers by the US Inflation Reduction Act.
The EU says that while it allows government tax breaks or
subsidies for purchases of US electric cars such as those made by Tesla, the
United States makes such support conditional on the car, or parts of it, being
made in the United States.
European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis,
responsible for trade, is holding talks on Thursday and Friday with US Trade
Representative Katherine Tai, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Treasury
Secretary Janet Yellen on the issue.
"Last month Tesla model Y was the most sold car in
Germany," Dombrovskis told a news briefing.
"That would not have been possible without the
un-discriminatory EU subsidy, while EU electric cars do not get a similar
subsidy in the US, which is discrimination that we want to address,"
Dombrovskis said.
EU car makers - like Volkswagen - are affected by the US
legislation, which covers a host of other products.
He said the problem also concerned a wide range of goods
from the "green economy" sector, including batteries, hydrogen, and
renewable energy equipment.
"There is a willingness to engage on the US side on
this," Dombrovskis said.
"We hope we can resolve these issues before they become
disputes," he said, adding talks would focus on whether changes to the
status of EU companies could be made through implementation of regulations to
the US law, rather than having to send the whole Inflation Reduction Act back
to Congress for amendments.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, asked if the issue
could be resolved, told reporters she expected the EU and US would reach
agreement.
"On the strength of the EU-US relationship, I have
every confidence we will work through this," she said after a meeting with
Dombrovskis.
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