A tax credit encouraging American manufacturing contained in President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has raised the ire of European policy makers, who say the credit is protectionist and will hurt European exporters.
European Union (E.U.) leaders expressed frustration with the electric vehicle (E.V.) component of the Buy American tax credits last month, with the E.U. Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager saying, "As a matter of principle, you should not put this up against friends," and French President Emmanuel Macron calling for a Buy European program. Now, the bloc says it will possibly target nine other American tax credits included in the IRA for protectionist retaliation.
