French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte hold a joint news conference after a meeting, in The Hague, Netherlands January 30, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - France and the Netherlands are aligned when it comes to the ways the European Union could deal with the "unintended consequences" of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Monday after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
"We have agreed to first look closely at the funds already available in the EU," Rutte said, referring to the discussion whether the EU needs fresh funds to support industries that could be hit by protectionist U.S. policies.
"And we have to see what the EU can do to make sure it is treated the way Mexico and Canada are treated, to resolve the unintended consequences on the side of the U.S."
Rutte added it could also make sense for the EU to loosen state aid rules for targeted industries such as green technology "in ways that support the internal market."
(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout and Bart Meijer; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
