Biden/Macron Joint Press Conference Underway

MNI (London): US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron are now delivering a joint press conference after a bilateral meeting at the White House.

• Livestream: https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/
• Biden and Macron have a strong working relationship but recent friction over the US Inflation Reduction Act and LNG prices has created tension between the US and the EU.
• According to a White House readout, "The Presidents intend to expand defense cooperation on advanced capabilities and key technologies..."
  • "They reaffirm their nations’ continued support for Ukraine’s defense of its sovereignty and territorial integrity [...] for as long as it takes."
  • "The United States and France will continue to coordinate on our concerns regarding China’s challenge to the rules-based international order... and to work together with China on important global issues like climate change."
  • "The United States and France reaffirm their commitment to an open and rules-based multilateral trading system, with a modernized WTO at its core [and] look forward to the work of the U.S.-EU Taskforce on the Inflation Reduction Act..."
  • "The Presidents welcome the progress made through the U.S.-EU Task Force on Energy Security to diversify the EU’s natural gas supplies, reducing its cost and limiting its dependence on natural gas."