Federal Minister of Economics Habeck in the USA (Britta Pedersen / dpa / Britta Pedersen)
The Green politician said in Chicago at the end of his trip to the USA that he had in mind a kind of “mini-free trade” for certain technical products. He spoke about it with US Secretary of Commerce Raimondo.
Discussions are currently taking place between the USA and the EU to develop common standards for goods that fall under US President Biden’s billion-dollar subsidy program. Habeck specifically mentioned industrial goods, batteries, semiconductors and critical raw materials.
The subsidy program had fueled concerns in Europe that companies would migrate to the USA, as the subsidies are tied to production in the USA. European companies should also be granted access to US subsidies through common standards – for example if a car manufacturer in the USA installs a battery manufactured in Europe.
This message was sent on March 10, 2024 on the Deutschlandfunk program.