[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Bruno Le Maire, France's Minister of Economy and Finance, expressed concerns about the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) during a virtual meeting with Katherine Tai, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), according to major foreign media reports on the 28th (local time).
In an official statement, USTR said, "Representative Tai and Minister Le Maire agreed that both the United States and the European Union (EU) need to cooperate closely to deeply understand the IRA."
The two sides discussed France's concerns regarding specific provisions of the IRA and agreed to continue discussions on this issue during Minister Le Maire's visit to the U.S. next week. Minister Le Maire is scheduled to accompany French President Emmanuel Macron on his first official state visit to the United States on the 1st of next month.
France has raised issues that the IRA provides tax credit benefits only for electric vehicles assembled in North America, discriminating against products made in EU countries and discouraging corporate investment within the EU.
In an interview with France 3 TV the previous day, Minister Le Maire stated that while he would negotiate with the U.S. to obtain some exceptions regarding tariffs and import restrictions under the IRA, Europe must stand up to the IRA to protect its economic interests.
He emphasized the need to consider what kind of globalization lies ahead for Europe, noting that China and the U.S. each prefer their own domestic products, and that Europe must now also use European-made products.
Meanwhile, Minister Le Maire revealed that the government had been overly reliant on consulting firms in the past and is working to correct this situation. He said that Prime Minister ?lisabeth Borne has instructed each ministry to reduce the use of consulting firms by 15%, and that in fact, from the first half of last year to the first half of this year, government use of consulting firms has decreased by 34%.
Currently, the French prosecution is investigating U.S. consulting firm McKinsey and others on charges of illegally funding election campaigns between 2017 and 2022.
Earlier in March, the French Senate released a report criticizing the government for excessive budget spending on consulting firms and raised suspicions of tax evasion by McKinsey.
The Senate stated that the amount paid by the Macron government to consulting firms such as McKinsey in 2021 alone was 893.3 million euros (approximately 1.2 trillion KRW), more than double the 379.1 million euros paid in 2018.
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