There is another issue that currently harbors the potential for conflict between the USA and Germany. Biden launched a multi-billion dollar US investment program last summer. It provides for investments in climate protection, but ties many subsidies and tax credits to companies using US products or producing them themselves in the USA. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is an important domestic political success for the US President.
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In Berlin and Europe, however, Biden’s “Made in America” approach is not so well received. The concern about competitive disadvantages is great. In a government statement at the beginning of February, Scholz called for the USA to make concessions and warned of a subsidy race. Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) and his French colleague Bruno Le Maire campaigned in Washington at about the same time for a Europe-friendly application of the law, but returned without any concrete commitments.