The US Treasury said on Thursday it is supporting a global minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15%, lower than the 21% minimum it has been trying to impose on foreign earnings for US-based companies.

The offer was made at a time when the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Group of Twenty are seeking to reach an agreement on a minimum corporate tax rate. It is part of an effort to end what the Treasury calls “race to the bottom”, as countries compete with each other to lower corporate tax rates and attract multinationals.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that governments lose up to $ 240 billion annually to companies that transfer their profits to other countries in order to reduce their tax contributions.

And the Treasury Department said in a statement that competition to cut taxes paid by companies “undermines the ability of the United States and other countries to increase the revenues needed to make important investments,” adding that his proposal was welcomed in other countries.

The Treasury confirmed that the proposed 15% is the minimum, saying that “the talks should remain ambitious and raise this rate even higher.”

Intending to fund his $ 2.3 trillion public works plan, President Joe Biden has proposed raising the US corporate rate from 21% to 28%, and imposing a 21% minimum tax on profits earned by companies abroad.