Foreign Policy columnist Edward Alden reported that a serious disagreement arose between Washington and European allies on economic policy, which eventually turned into a scandal.

The key episode of the split that has occurred in recent days, Alden called the refusal of European Commissioner Thierry Breton to participate in meetings of the EU-US Council on Trade and Technology.

The article says that Breton called "maintaining the competitiveness of Europe's industrial base" a priority.

Relations between the EU and the US have worsened, according to Alden, against the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine: natural gas prices have become 10 times higher than in the United States of America and European industry has found itself at a disadvantage.

In addition, as noted in the publication, Western countries are faced with rising energy prices due to anti-Russian sanctions and the policy of refusing fuel from Russia.

Earlier, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, warned of the threat of a new trade war between the EU and the United States due to the American law to reduce inflation.