Vice Chancellor Habeck and French Economy Minister Le Maire call on U.S. government to establish common green lead markets

Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck is travelling to Washington D.C. today for political talks. The focus of his two-day visit is on economic-policy and geopolitical issues and the establishment of green lead markets for climate-friendly technologies. Tomorrow, Federal Minister Habeck will be meeting with several representatives of the U.S. administration together with his French counterpart Bruno Le Maire to discuss these topics. During a two-day visit to Sweden on the occasion of the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU, Minister Habeck had held discussions about the Inflation Reduction Act in Stockholm last week.

The schedule today includes talks between Minister Habeck and German business representatives in the U.S. capital. Tomorrow, Minister Habeck will be meeting with U.S.Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo together with French Economy Minister Le Maire. The most important item on the agenda is the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and its significance for future trade relations between the EU und the United States. Details are planned to be discussed soon in the context of the task force on trade issues.

Vice Chancellor Habeck said: "The United States is one of our closest friends and allies, and the transatlantic partnership is extremely important. Since Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, we have come even closer together and we have responded in a determined and unified way. This unity is also key to mastering the climate crisis. We can build a green bridge across the Atlantic and establish common green lead markets. More renewable energy, more energy efficiency, a climate-friendly industry – this is what we in Europe are working on to achieve. By adopting the Inflation Reduction Act, the United States has embarked on the same course. The United States is now also promoting the transition of its economy towards green  markets and the reduction of the cost of the development of climate-friendly technologies. This is good, but it is important that it happens in friendly, fair competition to ensure that progress can be made on climate-friendly technologies. In view of the geopolitical challenges, it is also essential to strengthen our resilience and overcome unilateral dependencies. Here, too, cooperation with the United States plays a key role.

"I look forward to holding some of the talks together with my French counterpart Bruno Le Maire. Our economies are highly integrated with the U.S. economy, and our industries are also linked to many upstream suppliers in other EU Member States. France and Germany therefore bear a special responsibility to support the work of the European Commission in the field of the transatlantic trade policy, and in particular in the context of the task force on the IRA. And that is what our visit aims to do."