Citing sources, Politico writes that European politicians are increasingly dissatisfied with the actions of Washington, which profits from the Ukrainian conflict and the scarcity of energy resources in the EU.
“If you look soberly, the United States is the country that has benefited the most from this conflict, because they are selling more gas and at higher prices and selling more weapons,” a senior official told the publication in Brussels.
It was noted that European politicians “are enraged by the Joe Biden administration and now accuse the Americans of taking advantage of the war while the EU countries are suffering”.
According to one of Politico’s interlocutors, “America needs to understand that public opinion has changed in many EU countries.”
Falling inflation in the US causes problems in the EU
Another reason for escalating tensions is environmental subsidies in the US, which, according to Brussels, threatens to destroy European industry.
We are talking about the IRA, the anti-inflation law passed by US President Joe Biden in mid-August. In Europe, they are sure that some points of the law conflict with the norms of the World Trade Organization.
Earlier, European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton said the EC had sent a letter to the US outlining nine issues.
“Either they (USA) will change these points, or we will have to raise this issue at the WTO level and consider retaliatory measures,” Breton warned.
He stressed that allocating $370 billion (under the law) to return production to the US and create jobs “violates fair competition rules”. Also, the law provides for the expansion of tax subsidies. Applies to the purchase of electric vehicles assembled in North America and using US-made batteries from locally sourced materials.
Politico notes that businesses are moving from Europe to the US amid Washington’s support for green industries. “Just this week, multinational chemical company Solvay announced that it is choosing the US over Europe for new investment, the latest in a series of similar announcements by major EU industry giants,” the report states.
“The Inflation Reduction Act changed everything. Is Washington still our ally or not?” asked one of the EU diplomats.
Politico adds that the conflict in Ukraine has created other problems for the EU. Thus, the European economy “is heading towards recession, there is a sharp rise in inflation and a catastrophic decrease in energy supply.” This threatens Europeans with power outages and rationing this winter.
USA turns Europe into money
Europe is switching to US LNG to reduce its dependence on Russian gas. But fuel is very expensive. “The price Europeans pay is almost four times the cost of fuel in America,” writes Politico.
The publication said French President Emmanuel Macron said the United States was “not being friendly” and that “German Economy Minister urged Washington to show more ‘solidarity’ and help lower energy costs.”
At the same time, European ministers and diplomats were disappointed that Washington did not pay attention to how US domestic economic policy affected the EU.
Politico states that the US president was unaware of the fact that EU leaders were discussing high gas prices in the US with Biden.
“Europeans are clearly frustrated by the lack of prior knowledge and consultation,” said David Kleimann of the Brueghel think tank.
A US official told Politico that gas pricing for Europe is a private market decision and not the result of any policy or action by the US government. “The difference between export and import prices goes, in most cases, to companies selling gas within the EU, not US LNG exporters,” he says.
Besides gas prices, European politicians are also interested in the US defense sector. It is noted that the absence of weapons in the armies of European countries due to military aid to Ukraine forced the EU to turn to American suppliers.
A senior Brussels official told the publication that restocking some weapons could take “years”, prompting the EU to fear that the US defense industry could “make more profit from war.”
Meanwhile, the Pentagon is creating a roadmap to speed up arms sales to the allies.
As Tonino Pikula, the European Parliament’s chief spokesperson for transatlantic relations, said, “The United States is unfortunately pursuing a domestic policy that is protectionist and discriminates against US allies.” And diplomats polled by Politico say Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants” it.