The quarrel between the US and Europe surrounding the "Inflation Reduction Act" has recently reached a certain peak of public opinion.
After the French and German economic ministers jointly condemned the United States, the German finance minister once again warned the escalation of the US-EU trade dispute in an interview with the media. The Inflation Cut Act appealed to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
An important topic of French President Emmanuel Macron's recent visit to the United States is also to persuade US President Joe Biden to make concessions on the Inflation Cutting Act.
Although Biden said at a joint press conference with Macron that he would not "apologize" for the dissatisfaction of European countries with the local subsidy policy in the bill, he can "fine-tune" the content of the bill to fundamentally make European countries It is easier to participate (subsidy policy) or choose to be independent".
However, White House press secretary Pierre (Karine Jean-Pierre) said that the Biden administration currently has no similar plans, "For any legislation as historic as this bill, there is a complex implementation process, and federal agencies are actively We will continue to advance this process. We will not deliberately deal with any "small flaws" in this process, and emphasize that we will not amend this law through legislative procedures.
US-French Relations/Biden and Macron: The picture shows on December 1, 2022, US President Biden and French President Macron came to the South Lawn of the White House to attend a ceremony welcoming Macron to France.
(Reuters)
Judging from the internal procedures of the United States, in August this year, Biden signed the "Inflation Reduction Act" passed by both houses of Congress, and there is no room for fine-tuning.
After the mid-term elections, it is unlikely that the Republicans, who regain control of the House of Representatives, will accept the adjustment plan proposed by the Democrats.
It will not be easy for Biden to reunite the Senate Democratic consensus.
Does this mean that the US and Europe can only go further and further down the road of trade conflicts?
On the one hand, the EU is negotiating with the United States, and on the other hand, it is also making two-handed preparations.
The European edition of POLITICO News reported on November 22, citing two senior EU officials, that the EU is planning to provide substantial subsidies to European companies through the "European Sovereign Fund" to counter the $370 billion subsidy in the "Inflation Reduction Act".
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered a speech at the European Academy in Brussels, Belgium, on December 4, saying that the EU must take "rebalancing" measures to eliminate the "rebalancing" caused by the United States' heavy investment in green energy companies. Distortion" competition.
In recent years, trade disputes between the United States and Europe have occurred frequently, and the consensus between the United States and Europe is limited to jointly responding to the challenges posed by China.
The picture shows on June 15, 2021, at the European Union headquarters in Brussels, US President Biden (right) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (left) walked into the venue together, preparing to participate in the US-European Leaders Summit, while How to resolve the 17-year-long Boeing-Airbus financial subsidy dispute is the top priority of the summit.
(Getty Images)
The EU's protests against the United States are very loud, and the purpose is not to hope that the United States will change its course immediately.
It is worth mentioning that Reuters reported on November 25 that an anonymous French diplomat revealed that Macron would tell Biden, "You can't ask us to help you on the China issue and impose an inflation bill on us."
Von der Leyen also stated on December 4 that both Europe and the United States not only share the same climate goals, but also worry about the rise of China, especially in strategic areas such as critical materials such as chips.
White House spokesman Kirby said in a briefing call ahead of Macron's visit that China would be "top of the agenda" during Macron's visit.
It is impossible for the US and Europe to discuss trade disputes purely on the basis of trade disputes, and China is a complicated factor involved.
With major changes unseen in a century, the relative strength of the United States is declining, and internal conflicts in the Western world are entering a period of high incidence.
Judging from the settlement of the digital tax dispute between the United States and Europe in November 2021, the dispute between the United States and Europe needs to be negotiated.
Different US governments have different attitudes towards the EU, leading to different outcomes of disputes between the US and Europe.
Even if the EU is forced to cut meat in trade, it will hope that what is lost will be reaped.
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