President Emmanuel Macron begins his three-day state visit to the US on Wednesday bolstered by shared bilateral visions on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific. But President Joe Biden’s latest Inflation Reduction Act has alarmed the EU, and the French leader will have to stake a firm position on US subsidies and protectionism.
The official billing ahead of the first state visit of Joe Biden’s presidency was all roses, with the White House describing the guest, French President Emmanuel Macron, as the “dynamic leader” of America’s oldest ally.
Nearly two years after Biden took office, the diplomatic pageantry of a state visit – which was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic – is finally back. The war in Ukraine has brought the two countries, with their shared revolutionary histories as well as a fair share of prickly diplomatic patches, closer.
But there’s a thorn in the Old Continent’s side as Macron begins his three-day visit to the US on Tuesday. Tensions have been simmering between Europe and the USA over the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which Biden signed into law on August 16, 2022. The law authorises a $370 billion package of green subsidies, which will be allocated to the construction of wind turbines, solar panels, microprocessors and electric vehicles.
The most emblematic measure of Biden’s colossal plan, but also the…
