GIIA's market spotlights November 2024

U.S. news

By David Quam, Senior U.S. Advisor and Alessandro Pecorari, Policy & Public Affairs Manager

The Republican clean sweep of the House, Senate and Oval Office provides President-elect Donald Trump with a strong mandate, particularly over the next two years, which will allow him to influence key infrastructure laws such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS).

Under the U.S. Constitution, which limits candidates from running for a third time, Donald Trump is now a ‘one-term president’.  During his term, he will oversee the expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in 2025, and Congress will work on reauthorizing IIJA in 2026. These two pieces of legislation present his best opportunity to dismantle President Biden's initiatives and roll back regulations, while promoting a tax regime favorable to domestic corporations and implementing high tariffs to encourage local manufacturing.

Regarding the IRA, the President-elect will seek to curtail unspent funds to make up for the TCJA reauthorization. However, voters in Republican-leaning areas have benefited from two-thirds of announced clean energy investments under the Biden Administration, which may complicate Trump’s efforts to dismantle them.  Read more on our US election analysis.

Earlier this month, David attended the P3 Bulletin Awards to support and celebrate our members' achievements in innovation, creativity, and sustainability, all of which contribute to the development of America's infrastructure. View the list of GIIA member winners here. 

UK news

By Nick Elliott, Policy & Public Affairs Manager

We were pleased to secure The Rt. Hon. Darren Jones MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury and proponent of the Government’s new 10-year infrastructure strategy, to give the keynote speech at our London Conference, in which he promised a long-term infrastructure strategy that would provide the stability and certainty investors need. 

This strategy, which will integrate economic and social infrastructure pipelines and reform, is expected to offer the UK’s first coordinated outlook for the sector. Central to it will be the new National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, which will oversee strategy, project assurance and delivery across government. It will have a mission to enhance project effectiveness, resolve obstacles and ensure efficient resource allocation. 

In the water sector, we have intensified our advocacy on behalf of members ahead of Ofwat’s PR24 final determinations, due on 19 December. Following a highly productive roundtable with Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, we have further made clear the need to shift public and government attitudes to the water industry towards a narrative that creates a more positive investment environment.

We’ve also written to the Secretary of State to flag our concerns over the new Water (Special Measures) Bill, particularly draft language that would enable Ofwat to influence board-level decisions. Separately, in responses to Ofwat consultations, we have highlighted the risk of regulatory overreach and suggested ways to balance effective oversight with respect for company autonomy.

In the energy sector, our advocacy around the government’s Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) has taken on renewed urgency. With the prospect of zonal pricing on the table, we have taken a firm stance on behalf of members, emphasising the negative impact this model could have on existing investments in renewable assets. In a letter to Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security & Net Zero, we have outlined the risks to investment stability and urged the Government to weigh the broader implications of this shift carefully.

On the Government’s ongoing pensions reform process and potential consolidation of pension pots into larger ‘megafunds’, we have highlighted to the Treasury the importance of maintaining fund autonomy and avoiding mandated investment targets. Instead, we have recommended removing barriers that currently limit pension funds’ ability to invest in UK infrastructure. Our approach advocates for a balanced, market-driven strategy that aligns the goals of both pension funds and infrastructure development.

EU news

By Harvey Chandler, Head of Policy & Public Affairs

The new college of European Commissioners will take office from December, following last-minute wrangling over the approval of Italy’s Raffaele Fitto and Spain’s Teresa Ribera to the top team, and subsequent whole college approval by the Parliament on 27 November.

Commissioners will be responsible for enacting the programmes of activity set out in Ursula von der Leyen’s ‘mission letters’. These are framed around Von Der Leyen’s objective of becoming an ‘investment commission’, by delivering against the targets set under the last commission, as well as implementing the EU policy and regulatory framework at member state level in order to drive investment and allocations to priority infrastructure sectors. We will continue our input on these topics with relevant directorates.

In November, we met with representatives from sector associations in Brussels to discuss the roles each can play collectively in asks that will deliver our joint objectives. We will continue this engagement in 2025 as a way of leveraging our networks to ensure that our members’ asks are more widely amplified, helping to achieve European goals of closing the infrastructure gap.

One of the joint concerns is digital infrastructure. Telecommunications ministers will in December approve next steps on the White Paper ‘How to master Europe’s digital infrastructure needs?’, with a debate on policy for the Digital Decade 2030 initiative. We will seek meetings with DG CNCT and others to understand what investors should expect over the coming term.

For information on how you or your company can get involved in our advocacy work, get in touch with our Membership Officer Sophia Taylor, or email any of our Policy & Public Affairs team via the links above.