In an interview with the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper on Saturday, Bernd Lange, head of the European Parliament’s Trade Committee said he felt the EU should file a lawsuit with the World Trade organization over the US passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Ahead of a Monday meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council where the IRA will be discussed, he said, “My assumption is that the negotiations between the EU and the US will not be able to help agree even on small changes in the implementation of the IRA. The basic structure of the IRA will remain in place. In this regard, I think it is necessary for the EU to quickly file a complaint with the WTO in the coming months.” He added that a lawsuit would demonstrate, “that the US’s actions are clearly not compatible with WTO regulations.”

The $430 billion IRA was a package designed to reduce inflation and lower energy prices, as it tackled climate change by facilitating the increased adoption of green energy. The bill offered generous tax breaks and customer subsidies for US companies who invest in green energy. It also offered substantial subsidies for domestic electric vehicles, batteries, and renewable energy products, often making the subsidies dependent on the company being American or the product being made in America.

Many in Europe characterize the bill as protectionist, and discriminatory against companies outside of the United States.

French President Emmanuel Macron has derided the subsidies provision in the IRA as, “super aggressive,” as German Economy Minister Robert Habeck has demanded a “robust” response to the law from Brussels. At the same time, EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said in an interview with the newspaper Journal du Dimanche that the law would precipitate a “competitive imbalance” between the customers of US companies in Europe, and the American customers of EU companies. He proposed a “European sovereignty fund be created to support domestic industry within the bloc.

Lange also proposed the EU do more to directly support domestic industry, to counter the effects of the US legislation. He said, “We also have to examine whether and how we can reduce energy prices for our industry, as at the moment they are up to ten times higher than in the US.”