BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The German automotive industry is pressing for further concessions from Washington in the dispute over billions in subsidies between the United States and the EU after initial concessions. The EU Commission must continue to push for improvements, said Hildegard Müller, president of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur. The discriminatory regulatory approach chosen by the U.S. is contrary to open trade in goods, she said.

The dispute between Brussels and Washington is about a U.S. law that provides for billions of dollars in investments in climate protection and social welfare. From a European perspective, the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) puts EU companies at a disadvantage compared to their US competitors. Among other things, subsidies and tax credits are linked to the fact that companies use US products or produce in the USA. The EU is pushing for exemptions, as there are for Canada and Mexico.

At the end of last year, the EU Commission announced that new guidelines confirmed that European companies could also benefit in some cases. Specifically, certain tax credits for commercial vehicles could also benefit European companies. For example, EU companies could lease electric cars to American citizens.

The VDA stressed that this possibility is to be welcomed in principle. "However, from the point of view of the auto industry, it represents only a first necessary step toward changing the thinking on the IRA," Müller said. For example, only a portion of the vehicles brought to market by European manufacturers in the U.S. would be covered, he said. "In addition, leasing is apparently not particularly popular with customers in the U.S."/mjm/DP/stk