U.S., EU agree to speed up steel talks, keep discussing EVs

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and her European counterpart, Valdis Dombrovskis, agreed to speed up talks on global steel issues, among other trade and economic topics raised at their meeting in Washington, Tai's office said on Thursday.

The two also discussed the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and concerns about electric vehicles as well as China's non-market practices related to industrial subsidies, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a statement following their meeting.

Tai and Dombrovskis "agreed to increase the pace of discussions about the global steel arrangement," Tai's office said.

On autos, the two asked their teams to increase engagement on the recently-passed Inflation Reduction Act's impact on EVs, Tai's office said, adding that she noted "that seriously combating the climate crisis will require increased investments in clean energy technologies, as well as addressing supply chain and security vulnerabilities."

Earlier, her EU counterpart expressed concern about the "very broad" provisions in the law while Tai said she was confident both sides could resolve their concerns.

The United States is scheduled to host another meeting of the U.S.-European Trade and Technology Council before the end of the year, Tai said earlier.