Biden Says Climate Law Has ‘Glitches’ After Macron Criticism

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday acknowledged “glitches” in America’s clean energy law that have raised concerns in Europe, but said “there’s tweaks we can make” to satisfy allies.

Biden, who is honoring French President Emmanuel Macron with the first state dinner of his presidency on Thursday evening, said at a joint news conference that he and the French president spoke a “a good deal” about European concerns over his signature climate change law during an Oval Office meeting.

“The United States makes no apology. And I make no apologies since I wrote it for the legislation we’re talking about,” said Biden, though he conceded that changes may need to be made to the massive legislative package that he signed into law in August

Macron has made clear that he and other European leaders are concerned about incentives in the new law, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, that favor American-made climate technology, including electric vehicles.

Macron said that while the Biden administration’s efforts to curb climate change should be applauded, the subsidies would be an enormous setback for European companies.

“We want to succeed together, not one against the other,” Macron added

He said the U.S. and France would “resynchronize” their clean energy efforts to ensure there’s no “domino effect” that undermines clean energy projects in Europe.

The comments came after Biden and Macron sat down Thursday for the centerpiece talks of a pomp-filled French state visit.

The two leaders also spent much of their time discussing the war in Ukraine and concerns about China’s increasing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.

On the nine-month-old war in Ukraine, Biden and Macron face headwinds as they try to maintain unity in the U.S. and Europe to keep economic and military aid flowing to Kyiv as it tries to repel Russian forces.

“The choices we make today and the years ahead will determine the course of our world for decades to come,” Biden said at an arrival ceremony.

The leaders, with aides, met for talks shortly after hundreds of people gathered on the South Lawn on a sunny, chilly morning for the ceremony that included a 21-gun salute and review of troops. Ushers distributed small French and American flags to the guests who gathered to watch Biden and Macron start the state visit.

Both leaders at the ceremony paid tribute to their countries’ long alliance. But they acknowledged difficult moments lay ahead as Western unity shows some wear nine months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In Washington, Republicans are set to take control of the House, where GOP leader Kevin McCarthy has said his party’s lawmakers will not write a “blank check” for Ukraine. Across the Atlantic, Macron’s efforts to keep Europe united will be tested by the mounting costs of supporting Ukraine in the war and as Europe battles rising energy prices that threaten to derail the post-pandemic economic recovery.

Macron at the arrival ceremony stressed a need for the U.S. and France to keep the West united as the war continues.

“Our two nations are sisters in the fight for freedom,” Macron declared. He later added, “What is at stake in Ukraine is not just very far from here, in a small country somewhere in Europe. But it’s about our values. And about our principles.”

For all the talk of maintaining unity, differences on trade were shadowing the visit.

He criticized the legislation, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, during a luncheon Wednesday with U.S. lawmakers and again during a speech at the French Embassy. Macron said that while the Biden administration’s efforts to curb climate change should be applauded, the subsidies would be an enormous setback for European companies.

“The choices that have been made … are choices that will fragment the West,” Macron said. He said the legislation “creates such differences between the United States of America and Europe that all those who work in many companies (in the U.S.), they will just think, ‘We don’t make investments any more on the other side of the Atlantic.'”

He also said major industrial nations need to do more to address climate change and promote biodiversity.