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Macron warns bluntly that Biden’s agenda could “fragment the West”

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French President Emmanuel Macron warned Wednesday that President Biden’s signature domestic policies could “fragment the West,” leveling unusually blunt criticism shortly after touching down in Washington for the first state visit of the Biden presidency.

“There is a risk today that we must discuss among friends,” Macron said in a talk at the French Embassy. “The risk is that, in the face of the challenges I mentioned, the U.S. looks first to the U.S., which is normal — we do the same.”

But he added, “The choices made, whose goals I share — especially the IRA or the Chips Act — are choices that will fragment the West because they create such differences between the U.S. and Europe.”

Macron was referring to the Inflation Reduction Act, which among other things provides billions to support the U.S. clean energy industry, and a separate measure that bolsters U.S. semiconductor manufacturers.

Both are aimed in large part at countering China’s growing influence, but European leaders fear they will damage the continent’s own industries and possibly even ignite a trade war of sorts. “They create such differences between the U.S. and Europe that those who work in these industries will simply say to themselves, ‘We no longer make investments on the other side of the ocean,’” Macron said.

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Biden to welcome Macron amid turbulence in the Western alliance

The French leader has argued for months that Biden’s determination to reorient U.S. foreign policy toward Asia means that Europe needs to take greater leadership on the world stage and be less subservient to Washington. His comments shortly after his arrival made it clear he would not soft-pedal those views during his visit.

While Macron’s visit, which includes a lavish state dinner Thursday evening, is expected to be largely friendly, the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act in Europe has proven to be a major point of tension. Macron’s sharp warning of an economic split captures a broader sentiment in European capitals that the IRA, which includes $369 billion in aid to U.S. manufacturers, is a nationalistic measure that will hurt their economies.

White House officials also expect discussions about Ukraine to be front and center during the French president’s visit. Even there, Macron noted pointedly that “the cost of the war is not the same in Europe and in the U.S.,” given Europe’s proximity to Russia and its reliance on Russian oil and natural gas.

Macron to tout French nuclear industry in U.S.

Macron in his comments Wednesday also took aim at the multibillion dollar Chips Act, which seeks to boost the U.S. semiconductor industry. The danger, he said, is that the United States looks first to itself, “then looks at its rivalry with China — and that Europe, and therefore France, becomes a sort of adjustment variable.”

Despite such concerns, Biden and Macron have formed a close personal relationship, their aides say, and that friendship appeared to be reflected in their body language when Macron arrived at the White House on Thursday morning.

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What’s a state dinner, again?

That relationship has had to survive a significant rift earlier in Biden’s presidency.

The administration in September 2021 blindsided Paris by agreeing to share nuclear submarine technology with Australia, a move that cost France a lucrative contract to provide its own submarines to Canberra. Amid a diplomatic uproar, France briefly recalled its ambassador from Washington, and officials in Paris publicly questioned their alliance with the United States.

French and American leaders appear to have largely moved on from that flare-up, but now economic issues threaten to create another diplomatic spat. French officials warned in the lead-up to Macron’s visit that Europe may be forced to respond to the IRA with its own economic measures unless a compromise is found.

“Europe must demonstrate its ability to enter this competition,” a senior French official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic matters, said last week. The official cited a proposal for a “Buy European Act” to strengthen European industries, which Macron has publicly backed as an option.

But Macron said Wednesday he hoped that the United States and Europe can still avoid “commercial hostility” over the next weeks. “We do not need that. We need a real hand-in-hand [partnership],” he said.

These underlying U.S.-French tensions contrasted with the pomp and ceremony of the state visit. The two presidents and their wives appeared cordial and warm as they greeted each other during a White House arrival ceremony Thursday morning and waved from a White House balcony.

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At the arrival ceremony, Macron praised a U.S.-French alliance that goes back to America’s founding and two world wars. “As war returns to European soil with Russian aggression against Ukraine, and in light of the multiple crises facing our nations and societies, we need to become brothers-in-arms once more,” he said.

Source: Washington Post

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