A meeting of representatives of the EU and Washington in the dispute over the multi-billion dollar climate and social package in the United States remained largely unsuccessful. However, after the meeting of the joint Trade and Technology Council at the University of Maryland today, EU Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis expressed cautious optimism: “We are leaving this meeting a little more optimistic than we started it.”
“The bottom line is this: we are committed to moving forward together, not at each other’s expense, but for each other’s benefit,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The meeting discussed strong European concerns about the US subsidies included in the package. On the US side, Secretary of State Blinken, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Trade Representative Katherine Tai attended. The EU was represented by the Vice-Presidents of the EU Commission, Margrethe Vestager and Valdis Dombrovskis.
EU hopes for defusing
The dispute revolves around US President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). It provides 370 billion dollars (around 357 billion euros) for climate protection and energy security – including subsidies for electric cars, batteries and renewable energy projects “made in the USA”. Disadvantages for local economic sectors are feared in the EU.
“We recognize the concerns of the EU and underline our efforts to address them constructively,” the US said after the meeting. An EU official on the spot admitted that changing US law would be “very difficult”. However, something could still be done with the “implementation”. On the US side, there is a “willingness to take our concerns into account without going on a confrontational course.” Nevertheless, the EU expects a “more solid answer”.