South Korean Commerce Minister Ahn Duk-gun said the European Union and Seoul should work together to respond to the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) recently passed by the administration of President Joe Biden.
“There is a lot of room for the European Union and (South) Korea to work together to make this IRA more compliant with World Trade Organization rules, rather than creating problems for strategic parts of our industry,” it said. This was stated by the Minister of Trade in an interview with the European news site Euractiv.
He said Seoul and Brussels could work with the US administration to reduce the “discriminatory impact” of the law.
At the same time, the Korean Commerce Minister acknowledged that changing the law in the foreseeable future could be a very difficult task.
The Minister stressed that “if it turns out that they (the Europeans) can do nothing or if they show no desire to work with us to find a suitable solution, we will have to look for another alternative.”
He also expressed his opposition to similar protectionist measures in the European Union, comparing the move to “opening a Pandora’s box”.
It should be noted that the law, signed by US President Joe Biden last August, specifically provides for the expansion of tax subsidies for the purchase of electric vehicles assembled in North America.
The document, which the administration calls the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), includes provisions for $370 billion for clean energy and climate goals and $64 billion for drug cost reductions and health insurance.
The European Union described this law as discrimination against goods imported into America from other countries.
French President Emmanuel Macron has previously expressed dissatisfaction with the stimulus measures for American manufacturers, noting that this law is contrary to the rules of the World Trade Organization and is “unfriendly”.
Macron said that European countries need to respond strongly to the US anti-inflation law.
The French President stressed that Europe must respond before the end of March 2023, noting that Europe’s industrial sector must remain competitive against the backdrop of measures taken in the United States.
Source: News