Washington: President Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron met on Thursday for key talks on a fanfare French state visit. The two leaders were eager to discuss the conflict in Ukraine, concerns about China's growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific, and European frustration over some aspects of Biden's landmark climate legislation.
On Thursday night, Biden will host the first state dinner of his presidency in honor of Macron, but first the two presidents held a meeting in the Oval Office to discuss the challenging issues facing them.
The nine-month-old conflict in Ukraine is high on the agenda. Biden and Macron must overcome opposition to keep the US and Europe united by continuing to provide economic and military aid to Kyiv as it struggles to repel Russian forces.
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"The decisions we make now and in the years to come will shape the course of our world for decades to come," Biden said at a reception.
At the start of the face-to-face meeting, Macron acknowledged "challenging times" in Ukraine and urged both countries to "take our actions more effectively" on climate change.
Immediately following the ceremony, which included a 21-gun salute and a troops review, hundreds gathered on the South Lawn for the ceremony. Guests gathered to watch the state visit of Biden and Macron were given miniature American and French flags by ushers.
At the ceremony, both the leaders praised the long-standing ties between their countries. However, he acknowledged that challenging times lie ahead as the Western alliance begins to falter nine months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Republicans are about to take control of the House in Washington, and GOP leader Kevin McCarthy has said his party's representatives will not give Ukraine a "blank check". Across the Atlantic, Macron's efforts to keep Europe united will be put to the test as Europe battles rising energy prices that hinder post-pandemic economic recovery as well as the rising costs of supporting Ukraine in the conflict.
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Macron stressed the need for the US and France to keep the West united as war raged on during the arrival ceremony. In the struggle for independence, "our two countries are sisters," said Macron. Despite talk of maintaining unity, business differences existed during the visit.
Macron has made it clear that he and other European leaders are concerned about incentives in a new law related to climate change that favors US-made climate technology, including electric vehicles.
He criticized the Inflation Reduction Act on Wednesday during a luncheon with US lawmakers and again during a speech at the French embassy. While praising the Biden administration's efforts to tackle climate change, Macron claimed the subsidies would be a significant blow to European businesses.
According to Macron, the decisions that have been made will divide the West. The law, according to him, "creates such a distinction between the United States and Europe that all those who work in many companies (in the US) will simply think, 'We don't invest on the other side.' Atlantic,'" he said.
He said that major industrialized countries should make more efforts to combat climate change and advance biodiversity. In an interview that aired Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America"
Macron claimed that while the US and France were cooperating well on the geopolitical front in general and on the conflict in Ukraine in particular, they were not on "some economic issues". He claimed that US semiconductor and climate change legislation was not properly coordinated with Europe.
Earlier, he criticized a deal made at a recent climate summit in Egypt in which the US and other developed countries agreed to contribute to pay for the damage that a warming world is causing developing countries. Is.
The agreement provided few details of how it would be funded, and Macron said a more thorough approach was needed—"not just a new fund that we decided would not be funded and even That if it is funded, it will not be allocated properly.
The direct comments came after another low point last year, when Biden announced a deal to sell Australia nuclear submarines, undermining a deal for France to sell submarines with diesel engines.
Since then, ties have improved due to Biden's admission of the clumsy rollout of the submarine deal and Macron's emergence as one of Biden's strongest European allies in the West's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Regarding the Inflation Reduction Act, the European Union has also voiced concern that tax credits, such as those intended to encourage Americans to purchase electric vehicles, would discriminate against European producers and violate WTO regulations.
According to a senior French government official, Macron planned to argue against the subsidies to US officials, emphasising the need for "Europe, like the US, to come out stronger... not weaker" as the world emerges from the turmoil of the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
According to a second French official who requested anonymity in accordance with customary presidential practices, Macron also intended to seek exceptions to the US legislation for some European clean energy manufacturers.
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Officials from the Biden administration have argued that the legislation significantly aids the US in achieving international goals to slow climate change.
In a speech at a summit earlier this month in Bangkok, Macron caused controversy by referring to the US and China as "two big elephants" that are on the verge of posing "a big problem for the rest of the jungle."
His trip to Washington also comes at a time when the US and France are closely monitoring China in the wake of last weekend's protests in several Chinese cities, including Hong Kong, against Beijing's "zero COVID" policy.
The distinction of this state visit is a diplomatic advantage for Macron that he can use in Europe. Even though he still has a close relationship with Biden, his outspoken remarks help him show that he is standing up for French workers.
At a time when Europe is growing increasingly concerned that the Ukraine war and the ensuing energy and inflation crises will irreparably harm its economy, the incident also helps Macron enhance his reputation as the most visible and outspoken leader of the EU.
A vinyl and CD copy of the original soundtrack from the 1966 movie "Un Homme et une Femme" were among the gifts Macron and his wife, Brigitte, brought to the US for their American hosts. The Bidens saw this movie on their first date, according to the palace.
The mirror was made in America by an American furniture maker and was given to the Macrons by Vice President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. It is a replica of a mirror that hangs in the West Wing of the White House.
Along with a personalised vinyl record collection of legendary American musicians and an archive facsimile print of Thomas Edison's 1877 Patent for the American Phonograph, Biden also presented President Macron with these gifts. A French-American designer's gold and emerald pendant necklace was given to Mrs. Macron by the First Lady.
Prior to the evening state dinner for about 350 guests, which will take place in a glitzy gala venue built on the South Lawn of the White House, Harris will host Macron for lunch at the State Department.