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French and German ministers lobby US over green subsidy plans

Robert Habeck and Bruno Le Maire are in the US for talks on the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act - the EU argues that some of Washington's green subsidy plans are protectionist and could even risk a trade war.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

German vice chancellor and economy minister Robert Habeck was holding talks in Washington on Tuesday focused on the controversial US Inflation Reduction Act  (IRA), which foresees huge investments in green technologies, reports Deutsche Welle

The EU, however, believes the IRA unfairly puts its producers at a disadvantage. 

Habeck was joined by France's finance minister Bruno Le Maire, as the two largest EU economies sought to portray a united front in talks with US officials including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. 

Major public breakthroughs are not considered likely on the trip itself, not least because officially it is the EU that's responsible for any negotiations or agreements with the US.

Habeck even tried to stress that the issue was not yet urgent, that there was time to reach a satisfying consensus.

He pointed to the IRA still being in the implementation phase, and said "we therefore have a window of a few months to reach solutions."

Read more of this report from Deutsche Welle.