President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held talks on Friday amid trade frictions that could lead to negotiations over critical minerals used for electric vehicles and government subsidies, U.S. sources said.
Biden and von der Leyen will meet at the White House at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT) amid European complaints that subsidies, included in the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, will divert investment out of Europe and hurt their economies.
Senior Biden administration officials briefing reporters ahead of the talks said they expect the two leaders to agree to start negotiations on a critical minerals deal for electric vehicle batteries and a dialogue on the “transparency of grant incentives.”
“This is a deal that really focuses on the minerals critical to electric vehicle batteries and battery supply chains. It is expected that this will be a negotiation of limited scope and relevance to the critical minerals that respond to those needs,” said a senior official.
Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a $430 billion bill that provides massive subsidies to American-made products aimed at tackling the climate crisis and encouraging renewable energy, has drawn European ire.
The official said the dialogue on grants would aim to make sure the United States and Europe do not work for conflicting purposes.
The two leaders will also discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in imposing sanctions on “third parties” who are violating sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine war, the officials said.
