The European Commission on Thursday welcomed the temporary maintenance of the conditions for the allocation of subsidies to electric vehicles in the United States, after the US Department of Finance said in a publication that it had been delayed in announcing the final conditions.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) establishes that subsidies for the purchase of an electric vehicle will be granted as of January 1 and amount to up to $7,500.
But the publication of the final conditions was postponed in March by the ministry, those currently in force remain: for now, the vehicles and their batteries simply must be “assembled in North America” to benefit from the subsidies. This therefore includes those made in Canada and Mexico, a long-standing demand from countries neighboring the United States.
Towards a weakening of the Americans?
“The conditions published today reaffirm that European companies can benefit” from the subsidies provided under the IRA, judged the European Commission in a press release that “welcomes these conditions, the result of a constructive compromise” by both parties to the Atlantic. .
On the American side, this decision was criticized by Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who monetized his support for the IRA and now calls for a pause in the implementation of these subsidies “time to publish conditions that respect the objective of the IRA.”
“The announced regulations respond to the will of the companies and do not respect the objective of the law,” the elected official said in a press release. “They only weaken our ability to become a more energy independent country.”
Joe Manchin hopes in particular that the attribution conditions will not aggravate the United States’ dependence “on China and Russia for raw materials”, two countries that are among the main producers of the elements necessary for the electrification of vehicles.
A subject discussed during Macron’s visit
In fact, the current rules may benefit vehicles that do not meet the initial goals, which were intended to be “made in the USA” to favor the US auto industry, he believes.
But such a possibility has caused outrage both in North America – Canada and Mexico claiming that these rules contravene the free trade agreement between the three countries – and in Europe, which fears a weakening of its industry at a time when it is already suffering. of the increase in energy costs due to the war in Ukraine.
The issue was also discussed during the state visit of French President Emmanuel Macron in early December, and the French delegation was optimistic about a possible extension of subsidies for vehicles made in Europe.
In its press release, the Commission also recalls that the IRA continues to be “a matter of concern insofar as it contains discriminatory measures and in fact excludes European companies” from the planned measures. She says she wants “similar and non-discriminatory” treatment from European manufacturers to that accorded to their American competitors.
Source: BFM TV
