EU Accuses US Of War Profiteering As Energy Crunch, Subsidies Erode Industry - Reports

Europeans are becoming increasingly aware of the effect that US foreign energy trade and subsidy policies are having on their economies and they are not happy about it, EU officials have admitted

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th November, 2022) Europeans are becoming increasingly aware of the effect that US foreign energy trade and subsidy policies are having on their economies and they are not happy about it, EU officials have admitted.

Senior officials across the EU, including its top echelons, have complained in recent months that the double squeeze of energy costs and US tax incentives for domestic manufacturers and consumers could devastate the European industry. France and Germany, in particular, have criticized the US for selling fuel to Europe at record rates.

"America needs to realize that public opinion is shifting in many EU countries," the Politico newspaper quoted a senior EU official as saying.

EU nations have been buying more gas from the US as they seek to rid themselves of Russian supplies. The shift has contributed to the mounting fuel prices in Europe where energy costs are almost four times as high as in the US, according to Politico.

Coupled with the EU's increased reliance on US arms imports to replace weapons it is sending to Ukraine, the resulting expenses and the US tariff war risk driving a wedge in the transatlantic alliance, changing the public opinion about the Ukrainian conflict, the unnamed EU official suggested.

"The fact is, if you look at it soberly, the country that is most profiting from this war is the US because they are selling more gas and at higher prices, and because they are selling more weapons," the official told Politico.

"It's not good, in terms of optics, to give the impression that your best ally is actually making huge profits out of your troubles," another EU official said.

These comments have been reportedly backed in public and private by European diplomats and ministers, suggesting that Brussels is growing angry at Washington. The fact that US President Joe Biden has been in denial about the impact of his Inflation Reduction Act on the European allies is also a major problem, EU officials said.