US President Joe Biden’s “Inflation Reduction Act” was approved this summer, the largest investment ever made in the fight against climate change, as it allocates $370 billion to build wind turbines, solar panels and electric cars.
Some provisions of the law caused an uproar abroad, especially the tax exemption when buying an electric car made in an American facility and equipped with a battery produced in the United States.
Schulz said in a meeting with German industrialists in the capital, Berlin, that he would discuss the law to reduce inflation more comprehensively with the American side.
The German chancellor warned that it could “end up in a massive tariff war”, calling for closer international cooperation on climate protection and trade measures.
Schulz, whose country is home to auto giants such as Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes, did not specify which aspects of Biden’s plans he opposes, but European Union officials have spoken out in recent weeks against tax breaks set in the United States on Domestic electric cars, which they say will unfairly harm electric cars made elsewhere.
EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told Bloomberg last month that EU countries were concerned “about a number of discriminatory elements,” adding that the EU was assessing whether the new US law violated WTO regulations. .
Germany is also under fire for its grand plan, which includes allocating 200 billion euros to help families and companies with high electricity bills.
Its European partners are particularly concerned that this will affect the chances of competition.
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