The European Union will take action on new U.S. subsidies to protect Europe's competitiveness, EU Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton said.

"We can't stay inactive and will not," Thierry Breton said, Reuters reports.

The EU and the U.S. have set up a task force to discuss Washington's $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act, aimed at supporting industry and fighting climate change. The bill includes tax breaks, hinged on what has raised fears of unfair competition in the 27 EU member states.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the U.S. law is not exactly bad news, calling U.S. investment in green technology an opportunity for Germany as an exporting country.

But "the problem arises when ... competition-distorting rules influence future decisions on where to be based," Habeck said in his opening remarks at the conference, calling for proactive European action in the coming weeks.