【世界说】U.S. media: U.S. electric car subsidy policy has caused extreme dissatisfaction in Europe, and cracks in U.S.-Europe relations

　　China Daily, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The website of the U.S. "Barron's" (Barron's) said in its commentary on the 18th that the U.S. electric vehicle subsidy policy is creating differences between the U.S. and Europe, causing a rift in U.S.-EU relations.

　　According to the article, at the end of 2022, the last meeting of the US-EU Trade and Technology Council (US-EU Trade and Technology Council) will be held in Maryland, USA.

While the tone of the presentation seemed rosy, the reality was otherwise.

The tech partnership between the U.S. and the EU faces difficulties because of deep disagreements over economic policy and their role in the future of technology competition.

　　The article pointed out that the subsidy for electric vehicles in the "Inflation Reduction Act" (Inflation Reduction Act) signed by the United States last year is the biggest point of difference between the United States and Europe.

The subsidy plan has dissatisfied Europeans, who worry that European companies will be unfairly discriminated against.

It is reported that a European representative who participated in the meeting even refused to attend at the last minute.

　　The article further stated that in addition to differences of opinion on the issue of electric vehicle subsidies, the two sides also have differences on many issues such as "economic protectionism".

Not only that, the multiple meetings of the US-EU Trade and Technology Committee have highlighted the differences between the two sides.

The difficult problem facing the United States today is how likely is the cooperation between the United States and Europe.

　　The Inflation Cut Act provides new subsidies for electric vehicles in the United States, including provisions that make subsidies conditional on local assembly of complete vehicles in North America.

Analysts said that many European policymakers believe that the United States is trying to "occupy the manufacturing base".

　　The US "Washington Post" website also published an article on the 19th that the "Inflation Reduction Act" made the EU, the most important trading partner of the United States, angry, and believed that these measures would unfairly benefit American companies and violated the rules of the World Trade Organization. .

　　The article stated that the European Commission accused the measures in the bill of discriminating against non-US companies.

Specifically, the bill provides a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle consumers, but only if 40% of the raw materials for electric vehicle batteries come from the United States or a country with a free trade agreement with the United States.

　　The article pointed out that in the eyes of EU policy makers, the bill will attract investment to the United States, but in the case of fair competition, these investments should have flowed to Europe.

However, the United States has shown little apology for the EU's concerns.

　　According to the US Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC), European Commission Vice President for Economic Affairs Valdis Dombrovskis (Valdis Dombrovskis) said on the 19th that the EU still believes that the Biden administration's "Inflation Cuts" The EU is concerned that the Act discriminates against EU companies.

　　He also mentioned that the EU and the US are engaging at various levels, but the negotiations have yielded little.

In addition, the EU is advancing the formulation of new subsidy policies to maintain a level playing field within the EU single market.

　　(Compiler: Gao Linlin Editor: Hu Xiaoshan)