There is growing dissatisfaction in the EU with Joe Biden’s anti-inflation law

EU leaders are expressing open dissatisfaction with the US economic stimulus bill signed by US President Joe Biden in August. This law was called anti-inflationary, but in fact it is intended to help American industry. A meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council is scheduled for December 5, where the Europeans want to discuss with the Americans the problems caused by this law. The act provides manufacturers investing in the US with significant tax breaks and subsidies at a time when energy prices already make moving production to the US attractive. According to Bloomberg, the Europeans hope to reach a compromise. “Questions and concerns of the EU in connection with the US law to reduce inflation are being discussed in the EU-US working group in order to find mutually beneficial solutions,” the German government told Vedomosti.

France expresses its dissatisfaction most clearly. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on November 22 accused Washington of pursuing a “Chinese-style” industrial policy, that is, of directly subsidizing production. French President Emmanuel Macron met during his upcoming visit to the United States to discuss this law and urged French businesses not to succumb to its temptation.