‘It Will Split the West’: Macron Lambasts Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act

France’s President Emmanuel Macron addresses the APEC CEO Summit during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Bangkok on November 18, 2022.Evgeny MikhaylovThe French president arrived in Washington earlier this week, as Paris and other European capitals are worried about protectionist US policies, since EU industry is taking a heavy toll from the self-imposed energy crisis.French President Emmanuel Macron has slammed US policies subsidizing American companies under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as “choices that will split the West,” hinting at trade tensions between Washington and Brussels.According to several news agencies, the president said the US decision was “super-aggressive for our business people.”Previously, Macron addressed the issue in a rather straightforward fashion:

"I don't want to become a market to sell American products because I have exactly the same products as you," he said earlier. "And the consequence of the IRA is that you will perhaps fix your issue but you will increase my problem. I'm sorry to be so straightforward."

The IRA, criticized by the French president, stipulates vast payments to manufacturers to produce their goods in North America and supports environmentally friendly industries – for instance, it envisages investing billions in new US electric vehicle incentives.The EU fears that the act would force European manufacturers to relocate to the US, so the bloc wants exemptions, like those already granted to Canada and Mexico.© AFP 2022 / Thierry CharlierDie Flagge von den USA und der EUDie Flagge von den USA und der EUThe economic tensions across the Atlantic rose as the European economy was dealt a major blow after Brussels and Washington imposed sanctions on Russia following the launch of its special military operation in Ukraine. The sanctions hit already-volatile energy markets, resulting in record-high inflation and an energy crisis in Europe, jeopardizing the bloc’s industry. Moreover, the European nations had to boost purchases of US liquefied natural gas, which is more expensive to import than Russian natural gas. The high price only deepened the US-Europe rift, as Germany accused the US of asking “astronomical prices” for American LNG, thus profiteering from the situation in Ukraine.

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