Trade Ministers Meet To Discuss US Inflation Reduction Act

European Union trade ministers are meeting this morning in Brussels for a Foreign Affairs Council meeting in its trade format. The most prominent topic being trade relations with the US - particularly in the context of the Inflation Reduction Act coming into force on 1 Jan. EU and member states have raised concerns about the IRA significantly damaging EU export opportunities and industries.

• Council website states that on US-EU trade relations, "...the EU is very concerned about the discriminatory elements of the US Inflation Reduction Act and expects that the ongoing search for credible solutions will yield results rapidly."
• Potential for EU to launch either trade retaliation or engage in sizeable subsidy scheme to support affected industries. However, there is little appetite or indeed funding for such a scheme to rival that implemented to support US manufacturers.
• There are retaliatory regulation that could be adopted by the Council, but as Euractiv puts it, "the regulation would only serve to disadvantage US companies that benefit from market-distorting subsidies when they try to buy EU companies or in public procurement bids, thus limiting its effect."
• Livestream of presser at 1430CET (0830ET, 1330GMT): https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/ebs/live/2