by Jeff Mason, Steve Holland and Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. president and the president of the European Commission agreed on Friday to begin talks on critical raw materials, including those used in the manufacture of electric vehicles.
Joe Biden and Ursula von der Leyen met at the White House as Europeans believe US subsidies for green tech will hurt their economies.
The US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides billions of dollars in funding to support projects in the fight against global warming, including tax credits and grants for support the energy transition of companies.
The Biden administration seeks to address the concerns of Europeans while maintaining the fundamental principles of the law.
The two leaders said in a joint statement issued after their meeting that they plan “to immediately begin negotiations to find a targeted agreement on essential raw materials”.
These negotiations aim to reach an agreement for minerals mined or processed in the EU to be taken into account in the calculation of tax credits for clean vehicles under the IRA.
“Cooperation is also needed to reduce undesirable strategic dependencies on supply chains and to ensure that they are diversified and developed with trusted partners,” the statement said.
Joe Biden and Ursula von der Leyen underscored the strength of their partnership, as well as their unanimous support for Ukraine, in a statement delivered in the Oval Office ahead of their meeting.
(Reporting Jeff Mason, Steve Holland and Andrea Shalal, with contributions from Doina Chiacu, Eric Beech and Rami Ayyub; French version Camille Raynaud)
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