President Biden accused of war profiteering over the Russia-Ukraine conflict
November 27, 2022 | Melissa Fine
Excerpt:
The EU is particularly concerned with Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which it sees as a direct threat to Europe’s economy — a fact Biden has reportedly ignored.
“The Inflation Reduction Act is very worrying,” Dutch Trade Minister Liesje Schreinemacher told POLITICO. “The potential impact on the European economy is very big.”
Tonino Picula, who leads the transatlantic relationship for the European Parliament, agrees.
“The U.S. is following a domestic agenda, which is regrettably protectionist and discriminates against U.S. allies,” he said.
A whopping $369 billion industrial subsidy program included in the IRA and aimed at supporting green industries has caused some in the EU to question whether the U.S. can still be considered an ally.
“The Inflation Reduction Act has changed everything,” one EU diplomat said. “Is Washington still our ally or not?”
According to an official from France’s foreign affairs ministry, the subsidies are “discriminatory” and “will distort competition.”
And Germany isn’t any happier with the arrangement.
“We are experiencing a creeping crisis of trust on trade issues in this relationship,” said German MEP Reinhard Bütikofer.
And then there’s all “the money [the U.S. is] making on weapons,” another EU diplomat argued, adding “all this cash on gas” might be “a bit too much.”
“It’s not good, in terms of optics, to give the impression that your best ally is actually making huge profits out of your troubles,” the diplomat stated.
European governments should feel free to hand out $7500 subsidies for their electric cars sold in America.
About $50 billion and lots of Russians have gone up in smoke.
The US is losing money big time in Ukraine.