The European Union (EU) hopes to reach an agreement with the United States “as soon as possible” on key materials needed for the energy transition, European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said in Washington on Thursday, assuring that both sides of the Atlantic were working on it. AFP reports.

After a meeting with US Trade Ambassador Catherine Tye, Dombrovskis again stressed the need to quickly reach an agreement on “resolving the discriminatory elements” present, according to the EU, in President Biden’s big climate plan (IRA), adopted last summer.

“The United States has already signed such an agreement with Japan, which proves that it is possible to find a common language,” the European Commissioner insisted.

In late March, Japan and the United States signed an agreement on “critical materials and battery supply chains for electric vehicles,” which allowed Japanese vehicles to be included in the list of those eligible for a subsidy of $7,500 for the purchase of a new electric vehicle. , one of the main activities of the IRA.

Those award terms, to be confirmed at the end of April, allow access to these grants to countries bound by a free trade agreement with the United States, “a term that includes recently reached agreements on critical materials,” the Treasury Department said at the time.

That is why the EU hopes to reach such an agreement in the near future.

The European bloc has repeatedly raised concerns about IRA subsidies in the sector, as well as wind turbines and solar panels, fearing they would force companies to prefer investing in the US over Europe.

Canada, which is tied to the United States through a free trade agreement (FTAA) that also includes Mexico, expressed through its finance minister, Christa Freeland, on Wednesday some “concern” about the IRA and what the plan entails for countries , economically close to it. The United States.