The war in Ukraine, concerns over China’s aggressive moves in the Indo-Pacific and European dismay over Biden’s climate law marked the conversation at the White House between the US president, the host, and France, on an official visit. .
French President Emmanuel Macron is on an official visit to the US and this Thursday he is honored with the first state dinner of the Biden administration, but before that, the two leaders met in the Oval Office of the White House to discuss common concerns.
High on the agenda was the nine-month-old war in Ukraine, which is already drawing opposition to efforts by both Joe Biden and Macron to maintain US and European unity and economic and military support. to Kiev. in the fight against Russian advances.
“The decisions we make today and in the years to come will determine the course of the world for decades to come,” Biden said at a welcoming ceremony.
In the meeting with Biden, the French president began by acknowledging the “challenging times” in Ukraine and called for better “synchronization of actions” between the two nations when it comes to combating climate change.
In Washington, as Republicans prepare to seize control of the House of Representatives, House party leader Kevin McCarthy has already warned that Republican lawmakers will not give Ukraine a “blank check.” .
At the welcoming ceremony, Macron stressed the need for France and the United States to keep the West together as the war continues.
“Our two nations are sisters in the fight for freedom,” Macron said, appealing for unity as the division between the two over trade cast a shadow over the visit.
Macron made it clear that he and other European leaders are concerned about the incentives for a new environmental law that favors American-made technology, including electric cars, and criticized the legislation at a lunch with US lawmakers on Wednesday and again at a speech in the French House of Representatives. embassy. .
Macron said that while the Biden administration’s efforts to tackle climate change should be applauded, the announced subsidies are a major setback for European companies.
“The decisions that were made … are decisions that will fracture the West,” Macron said, saying the legislation “creates such huge differences between the United States and Europe that those who work” on the US side “will simply think” that ” will be not to invest again on the other side of the Atlantic”.
Macron stressed that the tax benefits provided for in the new environmental law as an incentive to buy electric cars in the US are discrimination against European producers and a violation of World Trade Organization rules.
The French president wanted to influence his position against subsidies before the US authorities, making it clear that it is crucial that Europe and the US “come out stronger, not weaker”, at a time when the world is recovering from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, according to a senior French government official.
Another official said France also intends to get exemptions in US legislation for some European clean energy manufacturers, but on the Biden administration’s side, they countered that the legislation helps the US achieve global climate goals.
The official visit comes at a time when France and the United States are keeping an eye on China, which is facing protests over its anti-Covid strategy.
The state visit is seen as a diplomatic boost that Macron can take advantage of upon his return, and the positions he defended can be used as proof that he defends French workers, maintaining a close relationship with Biden.
Source: TSF
