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The American special climate envoy has tried to reassure the Europeans, while foreign car suppliers in particular fear being left out of the bonuses given to American consumers.
John Kerry would reassure the Europeans with a small gesture a week later Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to the United States, but the US climate envoy is perhaps a little optimistic. Declaring on the BBC Saturday that the Biden administration was open to “ adjustments ” of his recovery plan through a green economy, he quickly forgets that Congress is obliged to favor American companies and that it will be very complicated to circumvent this request, analyzes our correspondent in New York, Carrie Nooten.
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“ I don’t think (the Inflation Reduction Act, IRA) will be watered down “, stated on the BBC the American special envoy for the climate. “ But see where it might be appropriate to make modifications or adjustments that are reasonable without affecting our own efforts? I am confident that President Biden would be willing to think about it. »
Protectionist reforms and subsidies
The European Union has been concerned for months about the effects of the IRA, US President Joe Biden’s $420 billion largely climate-related plan passed last summer. Among other things, it allows for reforms and subsidies in favor of companies established in the United States, especially in electric cars or renewable energy, which worries the EU, which calls for more ” coordination and fears an escape from his companies across the Atlantic.
The share of the pie is not insignificant: more than 50 billion dollars, for example, is planned for consumers who buy a “Made in America” electric vehicle. And the Americans are even more protectionist since they decided a few months ago to recreate local and solid production chains to reduce their dependence on China.
The concern is not just European either: Korean and Japanese equipment manufacturers are also putting a lot of pressure on. And if Tokyo has threatened to retaliate, Honda has already decided to adapt and launch the assembly of one of its hybrid cars in Indiana and Ohio next year.
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