This Tuesday, November 29, 2022, Joe Biden welcomes Emmanuel Macron for a four-day official state visit. If the American president must take care of relations with the Elysée, he must also defend his own interests.
Joe Biden rolls out the red carpet to Emmanuel Macron on a trip to Washington this Tuesday, November 29, 2022 and for four days. The first state visit to the United States since Joe Biden’s installation at the White House, the meeting created the event and involved many economic, but also geopolitical and environmental issues. If on some the visions of the two heads of state come together, on others a courteous showdown could be organized between the White House and the Elysée. Joe Biden has every interest in ensuring that his French counterpart’s visit goes off without a hitch, but is also pushed to stick to some of his positions, starting with that on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. 2022). From the seriousness of the discussions held in the Oval Office to the intimacy and informal exchanges during the presidential dinner scheduled in the presence of the two First Ladies, Jill Biden and Brigitte Macron, nothing will be left to chance between the two presidents.
Joe Biden and the defense of the Inflation Reduction Act
If the American president wants Emmanuel Macron’s visit to go off without a hitch, he does not intend to flatten himself in front of the French head of state, in particular on the central point of this meeting: the negotiations on the Inflation Reduction Act. (IRA). The law passed on August 16, 2022 provides massive aid – just over $430 billion – for Americans consuming 100% American-made products, in particular through tax credits. The measure, essential for Joe Biden’s balance sheet, who has only two years left to honor his campaign promises, is not viewed favorably by the European Union, whose spokesperson Emmanuel Macron is speaking out. during his visit to Washington. While the Brussels Commission considers the law protectionist and able “to threaten employment and economic growth in Europe and elsewhere”, reports Le Figaro, the French head of state intends to ask his American counterpart for exemptions, purely and simply. Joe Biden has assured through his spokesperson, John Kirby, that he is “ready to have this conversation and find a way to address these concerns”, but will he go so far as to contravene his own law? for the benefit of a few European industries? The negotiations promise to be tense.
Taking care of Franco-American relations
Despite the opposing interests of Washington and Paris on the question of the IRA, Joe Biden wishes to appease Franco-American relations. Trade between the two countries has not been good since the election of the American president and the crisis over the submarine contract with Australia. In 2021, the White House, teamed up with the United Kingdom and the mainland island, had won a lucrative contract for the manufacture and delivery of military submarines on which France had positioned itself. Emmanuel Macron did not appreciate this sidelining of the strategic Indo-Pacific zone. But for Joe Biden, the French president’s state visit is an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and strengthen ties. This cooperation must extend to several areas, which are also strategic: nuclear, space and even biodiversity. Future areas in which the United States wants to reserve a leading position.
Between common front and leadership on the war in Ukraine
The war in Ukraine will inevitably be at the heart of discussions between Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron. The two heads of state have positioned themselves as two great allies of kyiv but have so far defended slightly different positions, Washington being less inclined to discuss with Moscow than the Elysée, which has taken on the role of mediator and calls for negotiations between the two belligerents. Joe Biden could reconsider his position, however, as an opening for talks between kyiv and Moscow appears to have been spotted by US Chief of Staff General Mark Milley, as reported. France info. By massively participating in sending military equipment to Ukraine, the American president has made sure to weigh heavily in this conflict and does not want to lose his decisive and dominant role. The alignment of the United States and Europe on the same strategy is, here again, a way for Joe Biden to strengthen ties at a time when the Russian bloc is seeking to get closer to Europe.