Italy urges EU to give strong and strategic response to U.S. IRA

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's economy minister on Saturday urged the European Union to give a strong and strategic response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which he said was posing threats to the national economy.

"Some Italian companies are considering moving production to the U.S. following the IRA scheme, it would be a disaster," Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said at an event in Rome.

The EU fears that the $430 billion IRA scheme, with its generous tax breaks for domestic production of energy sector components, may lure away EU businesses and disadvantage European companies, from car manufacturers to makers of green technology.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante and Giuseppe Fonte, Editing by Angus MacSwan)