Biden To Repair Relations With France During Macron State Visit

French President Emmanuel Macron will arrive in Washington DC later this evening ahead of the first state visit of Biden's tenure in the Oval Office.

• Macron’s visit comes amid strain in the Franco-US relationship over the establishment of AUKUS which prompted the scrapping of a major military contract with Australia and a simmering trade dispute between the United States and the European Union over the electric vehicle subsidies provided by the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
• US Trade Rep Katherine Tai and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire yesterday agreed to “deepen bilateral understanding of the [IRA] legislation.”
• Bloomberg: “The Inflation Reduction Act.... provoked concerns in Europe over the cumulative impact of some measures on industry, including the threat of luring away investment.”
• Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz found rare common ground over opposition to the IRA with Macron pushing a “Buy European Act” to counter the US subsidies.
• White House National Security Council Spokesperson, John Kirby yesterday confirmed that IRA will be on the agenda: “We look forward to having that discussion with our French counterparts,” so the administration can “better understand the concerns of our European friends.”