The supposed need to respond to the America’s Inflation Reduction Act in kind has given an opening to those in Europe who prefer less market and more political meddling
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskThese days it is green technology that is “the power of tomorrow”, and Europe once again fears America is leaving it in the dust. The Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act , passed in August, offers at least $400bn of public money over ten years to accelerate the roll-out of renewable energy and electric vehicles. America’s carbon-cutting ambitions were at first lauded by the. But the penny swiftly dropped.
Quaero ended up merely incinerating a pile of public cash. A botched response this time around could be far costlier. Wastefulcopycat subsidies are on the cards. Worse, a plethora of tried-and-known-to-fail economic policies have been dusted off to counter the manageable threat posed by theThese would steer Europe away from the free-trading open economic approach favoured by northern Europeans—including Britain, when it played a key role in steering the—and which currently prevails.
The alliance in favour of driving a horse and carriage through the state-aid rules includes Germany and France—a duo that often gets its way inmatters. They want Europe to counter American subsidies with its own. But because the bloc itself lacks the resources to fund such industrial largesse centrally , it will come down to national governments to splurge on corporate bungs. State-aid rules would thus have to go.
Yet there is no need for Europe to scrap the policy that has underpinned its economic success. The Biden administration’s me-first approach is no friendly act to Europe. But the supposed threats posed by theare overstated. A dollar spent in developing a battery plant in Kentucky does not preclude a euro being invested in Austria, no matter what European chief executives goading politicians into fattening their bottom lines might claim.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Inflation-busting public sector pay rises risk stoking inflation, Bank of England governor warns'I am very uncertain, particularly about price-setting and wage-setting in this country. We have got the largest upside skew in our forecasts that we have ever had on inflation.'
Read more »
German inflation hits five-month low of 9.2%\n\t\t\tKeep abreast of significant corporate, financial and political developments around the world.\n\t\t\tStay informed and spot emerging risks and opportunities with independent global reporting, expert\n\t\t\tcommentary and analysis you can trust.\n\t\t
Read more »
Public sector pay deals should take falling inflation ‘into account’, says Bank of England\n\t\t\tGet local insights from Lisbon to Moscow with an unrivalled network of journalists across Europe,\n\t\t\texpert analysis, our dedicated ‘Brussels Briefing’ newsletter. Customise your myFT page to track\n\t\t\tthe countries of your choice.\n\t\t
Read more »
UK Inflation on track to fall but Bank remains 'watchful'Uncertainty prompted the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee to raise interest rates last week
Read more »
Hunt offers hope on pay settlements but rules out feeding inflationJeremy Hunt tells Sky News that to loosen the purse strings significantly would exacerbate the inflation problem and keep interest rates higher for longer.
Read more »
Bargwanna to race TCR in EuropeBen Bargwanna will race TCR in both Australia and Europe this year with a partial World Tour campaign.
Read more »