EU and US achieve breakthrough on subsidies for green technology

The United States will treat essential materials for green technologies mined or processed in the European Union as if they came from the United States. This was agreed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and U.S. President Joe Biden. Von der Leyen was visiting Biden at the White House.

The agreements, which have yet to be worked out in detail, are intended to bring a solution to the ongoing dispute over U.S. subsidies for green technologies. EU countries perceived the requirements as U.S. protectionism. They feared companies would prefer to invest in the U.S. and therefore not put money into building production capacity in the EU.

Batteries for electric cars, for example, require many metals and minerals. Europe wants these to be mined here as well, but if the U.S. prefers these materials from its own country, that could be bad for European industry. It remains to be seen whether the agreement can also count on the support of U.S. politicians.