US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said again on Thursday that the Biden administration does not want, with its climate plan, to penalize its trading partners, especially Europeans, despite the concrete difficulties in writing these rules.
“The goal of Congress was to make sure we have secure supply chains and to try to include our allies in that.
We will therefore look at what can be done
, ”assured journalists the Minister of Economy and Finance of Joe Biden, during a trip to Fort Worth (Texas).
"Defining Free Trade Partners"
She pointed to US subsidies given only to US-built electric vehicles, which
“are also causing concern.”
“We have the responsibility at the Treasury to write the rules regarding the various tax incentives.
And we listen to a wide range of stakeholders to make sure we're doing it right
,” said Janet Yellen.
She thus underlined that one of the problems is to
"define the free trade partners"
, citing the example
of "alliances with Europe in Japan, with which we do not have a formal free trade agreement. exchange".
The European Union has been concerned for several months about the effects of the IRA, US President Joe Biden's $ 420 billion plan largely devoted to the climate and adopted last summer, and which was at the heart of the state visit in Washington by French President Emmanuel Macron last week.
The subject was also discussed by the United States and the European Union on Monday, near Washington, as part of the meeting of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC).
Janet Yellen also hammered home that the US economy can escape recession in 2023, despite still very high inflation (7.7% over one year in October).
Read alsoClimate, taxation, international solidarity: small steps and big blockages of the United States
"I think we are on the right track to bring inflation down and recession can be avoided,"
said the minister.
The persistence of this high inflation is pushing the central bank (Fed) to tighten monetary conditions more strongly before slowing economic activity, and therefore inflation, but at the risk of causing a recession.
The Fed is due to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday, and is expected to raise its key rate by half a percentage point.
This is still a strong increase, but marks a slowdown compared to those adopted at the last four meetings, reflecting the first signs of a slowdown in inflation.
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