Bloc must act over US climate plan 'distortions': EU chief

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday the bloc must act to address "distortions" created by Washington's USD 430-billion plan to spur climate-friendly technologies in the United States. EU countries have poured criticism on Washington's landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), seeing it as anti-competitive and a threat to European jobs, especially in the energy and auto sectors. The bloc must "take action to rebalance the playing field where the IRA or other measures create distortions", von der Leyen said in a speech at the College of Europe in the Belgian city of Bruges. The act, designed to accelerate the US transition to a low-carbon economy, contains around USD 370 billion in subsidies for green energy as well as tax cuts for US-made electric cars and batteries.

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