STUTTGART — Investment and other tools to accelerate the industrial transition to a decarbonized future are welcome, but trade barriers are not, Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius said, referring to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.
“Trade barriers, please no,” he said during a news conference on the automaker’s full-year results.
With $369 billion of subsidies largely for manufacturers based in North America, the U.S. IRA has put the European Union on the defensive.
European leaders fear the local content requirements may lure companies away from the region.
Kaellenius welcomed the efforts towards a greener future but criticized the protectionist side effects of the act.
“The biggest exporters from the U.S. back to Europe are German companies,” Kaellenius said, adding that the automaker is one of those companies.
Mercedes was already regionalizing its sourcing chains in the U.S., Kaellenius said. “Now it will be financially supported, so it will indeed be more economically viable,” he added.