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The move angered foreign governments and foreign-owned carmakers who say the change will disqualify a majority of their EV fleets from North American markets. "But it should not have negative side effects on their European allies and the European economy." South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol also spoke to Biden about the issue during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit, according to Yoon’s office. The Treasury is working to define the rules for some $278 billion worth of tax credits on EVs, solar and wind power investments and a range of other technologies. While a number of countries have said the U.S. tax credits likely violate World Trade Organization rules, none have sought to file a formal challenge.

☆ Yellen to seek clarity from China on COVID, property -officials
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Nov 13 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will seek clarity on China's plans to ease its COVID-19 restrictions and deal with problems in its property sector when she meets on Monday with China's central bank chief, Treasury officials said on Sunday. Yellen is prepared to discuss with Peoples Bank of China Governor Yi Gang the outlook for U.S. inflation and growth, but will likely leave monetary policy plans to the Federal Reserve, the officials said. The Treasury officials said they do not plan to offer advice to China on its COVID restrictions or its property sector woes, but to understand Chinese officials' approach so they can better interpret the impact of policy changes. Yellen also will also meet with French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and new Italian Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti. Yellen also will urge her European counterparts to keep up strong fiscal support for Ukraine in a transparent and predictable way, the officials said.

☆ EU, US must address concerns over U.S. inflation act - German fin min
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Germany wants dialogue with Washington rather than tit-for-tat measures to ease trade tensions triggered by the U.S Inflation Reduction Act, which could harm European businesses and industry, Germany's finance minister said on Monday. Christian Lindner said a task force set up between the United States and the European Union should address the issue urgently. "In everyone's interest, we will not enter a tit-for-tat but rather strengthen the sources of wealth and growth together," he added. Earlier on Monday, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the law was a major threat to European companies and that the EU must stand firm against it. Reporting by Rachel More, Editing by Miranda Murray and Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EXCLUSIVE Elon Musk reached out to EU industry chief to pledge content policing compliance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Michel Rose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The exchange came after Breton took to Twitter to warn Musk about the new European legislation on Friday. "In Europe, the bird will fly by our EU rules," Breton tweeted on Friday. Companies will face fines of up to 6% of annual global turnover for breaches of Digital Services Act. Breton and Musk had met in May, and the two had signalled at the time agreement on complying with EU regulation. In a video posted on Twitter by Breton after their May meeting, the EU official says he explained the Digital Services Act to Musk.

☆ France and Germany's relationship questioned as Scholz goes alone on policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Officials have denied problems in the Franco-German relationship, but Chancellor Scholz's focus on domestic politics is upsetting some lawmakers in Europe. Fresh tensions between France and Germany are challenging their relationship at a time when their unity is critical for broader European policy in tackling the energy crisis. The leaders of the two nations will meet in Paris on Wednesday, but this encounter almost got canceled. He added that the action of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is "creating the deepest divides within the Union." France and Germany are the two largest economies in the European Union and two of the founding nations of this political grouping.

☆ Nissan, Renault relationship should be 'more equal' Renault CEO tells Nikkei
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The relationship between Japan's Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) and top shareholder Renault SA should be "more equal", the Nikkei newspaper quoted the French automaker's chief executive as saying. "Each company needs to do what is best," he told the Nikkei, adding that that was the spirit of their alliance. Such a shift could mean the biggest reset in their relationship since the 2018 arrest of longtime executive Carlos Ghosn. Talks so far have included consideration of Renault selling some of its Nissan stake, Reuters has previously reported. For Nissan, that could mean a chance to alter a structure that many executives at the Japanese company have seen as unbalanced.

☆ France: keen that Renault keeps industrial and technological advantages in Nissan alliance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said he would hold further talks with Renault (RENA.PA) chief executive Luca de Meo regarding Renault's alliance with Nissan (7201.T) and that France was keen for Renault to hold onto its industrial and technological advantages. "I will talk about it soon with Luca de Meo, we are in talks with Luca de Meo. We just want to make sure that the decisions taken by Renault keep the alliance between Renault and Nissan, and that it will be in the interests of Renault, in terms of technologies and platforms," said Le Maire at the Paris Car Show. Renault is Nissan's largest shareholder with 43% while the Japanese automaker in turn owns 15% in Renault. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Gilles Guillaume; Editing by Sudip Kar-GuptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Paris CNN Business —French President Emmanuel Macron called a crisis meeting with senior ministers on Monday to address crippling strikes at gas refineries that has caused fuel pumps to run dry. Elsewhere, nearly one third of gas stations have run out of at least one fuel, with the situation expected to worsen this week, according to French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. But French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the strikes were “unacceptable and illegitimate,” because wage agreements had been met with the majority of workers. Transportation minister Clement Beaune told France Inter that the only way out of the crisis is an end to strikes. On Sunday, thousands marched through central Paris to protest the crisis and “climate inaction.”

The government said it had requisitioned six workers at a TotalEnergies depot in Dunkirk, northern France, and would do the same at its Feyzin depot in the southeast this afternoon. The government has already requisitioned staff elsewhere, a move vehemently opposed by the CGT, which has called on other workers to join its protest. But even so, petrol supplies will take some time to get back to normal. Transport Minister Clement Beaune told France Inter radio that petrol stations might still have problems until next week, adding: "We're still struggling." According to government data, roughly one in three petrol stations has not been supplied normally in the last few days.

Together with Ethiopia and Zambia, Chad was one of three initial countries to seek a debt restructuring under a G20 initiative. That could happen in 2024, the source said, when Chad will face a high level of debt service payments. Chad's debt-relief discussions under the G20 framework have been led by the Paris Club and Saudi Arabia. A French finance ministry source on Monday said the creditors were close to a deal. The source said discussions were continuing with Zambia, whose finance minister also participated in the G7 meeting with African finance ministers, an event coordinated by current G7 president Germany.

☆ Government threatens further requisitioning as strikes at TotalEnergies continue
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterTotalEnergies said in a statement on Thursday the conditions to hold wage talks with all unions were not in place as the various blockades continue. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told RTL radio TotalEnergies had "the possibility and therefore the duty" to raise wages, adding the company had "come late" in starting talks with unions after making large profits. A representative of the union's branch at Esso France (XOM.N) had said on Wednesday the walkouts which block two refineries would also continue. Two weeks into the strikes which reduced France's petrol output by over 60%, still one in three petrol stations is still struggling with supplies. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Benoit Van OverstraetenOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ France tries to break oil refinery strike as drivers line up for gas
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Under French law, workers who ignore such an order could face a €10,000 ($9,700) fine or six months imprisonment. The rarely used measure can be imposed by the government when the country’s national security is at risk because of strike action. Striking workers have blockaded ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies (TOT) refineries for several weeks, disrupting supply to thousands of gas stations. Nearly one in three gas stations reported difficulties with supplies on Monday, according to France’s energy minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher. CNN affiliate BFMTV reported miles-long tailbacks at gas stations, with drivers at one site on the edge of Paris queuing for nearly two miles earlier this week.

☆ U.S. not expecting any big breakthroughs on debt issues this week -Treasury officials
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationWASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen views debt restructuring as a key priority, but senior Treasury officials said they do not expect any major breakthroughs on debt matters at this week's meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Aiding Sri Lanka, one of the most urgent such cases, would require a process with key creditors outside of the G20 framework, the Treasury official said. Yellen, who last week warned that some countries would need "considerable debt relief," would discuss the issue with her counterparts during the week, a second Treasury official said. The Zambian government told investors on Friday it hoped it would agree debt relief terms with official creditors by the end of the year or early 2023. Chad's creditors are also close to reaching a debt relief agreement, a French Finance Ministry source said on Monday.

☆ French government ready to intervene to lift refineries blockade - ministers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Benoit Van Overstraeten | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A flag of French CGT labour union flutters as workers on strike gather in front of the TotalEnergies oil refinery in Gonfreville-l'Orcher, France, October 5, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit TessierPARIS, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The French government stands ready to intervene to break the deadlock in the weeks-long refinery strike that have left a third of the country's fuel stations running short, government ministers said on Tuesday. "We must find an agreement in the coming hours," French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told French radio. Both Le Maire and French government spokesman Olivier Veran added the government could intervene to end the blockades. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Sudip Kar-GuptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ IMF chief Georgieva aims to complete Zambia, Chad debt restructuring by year-end
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Georgieva said the IMF was pressing for more predictability and timely resolution of requests for help under the G20 Common Framework. IMF and World Bank officials have repeatedly singled out China, the biggest creditor to many African countries, and private sector creditors for dragging their feet on reducing countries' debt burdens. The Zambian government on Friday told investors it hoped it would agree debt relief terms with official creditors by the end of the year or early 2023. The IMF estimates that Zambia needs $8.4 billion of "cash debt relief" - cutting both interest payments and loan repayments - from 2022 to 2025. Chad's creditors are close to reaching a debt relief agreement, a French Finance Ministry source said on Monday.

Europe has nearly half a million telecom towers and most of them have battery backups that last around 30 minutes to run the mobile antennas. Swedish telecom regulator PTS is working with telecom operators and other government agencies to find solutions, it said. The telecom operators are also working with national governments to check if plans are in place to maintain critical services. Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) will use mobile emergency power systems which mainly rely on diesel in the event of prolonged power failures, it said. France has about 62,000 mobile towers, and the industry will not be able to equip all antennas with new batteries, the FFT's president Liza Bellulo said.

A debate is raging in European countries over whether oil companies making record profits because of the energy crisis should pay additional taxes to help consumers cope with soaring inflation. Patrick Pouyanne, being grilled by French lawmakers, said TotalEnergies was waiting to see how the EU debate evolved before deciding whether to lower prices further at French petrol stations next year. Environment media outlet Basta reported in July that the group had paid no taxes on profits for its French companies in 2019 and 2020, citing the group's own reports. Pouyanne told the hearing he expected TotalEnergies would pay taxes on profits earned in France this year. He also said it would pay about 8 billion euros in dividends in 2022, in line with last year.

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