Macron to visit US amid strained ties

France’s President Emmanuel Macron will raise concerns with the United States on trade issues during a state visit this week that comes amid strained ties.

The diplomatic house call comes against the backdrop of a growing economic war between the nations that began with a controversial pact and continued due to new US legislation.

The AUKUS pact of the United Kingdom, Australia and the US resulted in Canberra canceling a contract to buy French submarines. With France furious with the US over the collapse of the deal, and with retaliatory trade sanctions escalating between the nations, Reuters reported that Macron and US President Joe Biden will now want to send a message that the strained ties have been repaired.

But France is also concerned about the US Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, that Biden signed in August, which calls for subsidies for US manufacturers and which the European Union has said amounts to unfair competition.

An unnamed Macron adviser told Reuters that France wants exemptions from the IRA for EU companies.

The Associated Press reported that the visit could ensure the nations avoid a major trans-Atlantic row, with EU trade ministers vowing to respond if Washington implements the IRA in full.

The EU is also reportedly considering taking its complaints to the World Trade Organization.

Agence France-Presse reported that energy will also be on the agenda during Macron’s visit, with France looking to ramp up nuclear power cooperation. And he will also try to persuade the US to lower its selling price for gas and oil, after saying earlier this month the US “produces cheap gas but sells it to us at a high price”.

Describing the situation as “unfriendly”, he said he “will go to Washington in a spirit of friendship … to simply plead for a level playing field”.

Macron is expected to arrive in the US on Tuesday, visit the White House on Thursday, and the largely French-speaking state of Louisiana on Friday. He will be the first French president to participate in two state visits, and will be accompanied by a large delegation of ministers and business leaders.

Is the United States still our ally? This is a question that not just European Union officials are asking, but also many people in Europe. It is a question that has been prompted by the fact that Washington is making a great fortune out of the troubles European countries are facing.

EU countries trying to reduce their reliance on Russia for energy turned to the US for gas instead, only to find that the price they have to pay is almost four times that in the US.

As a result, the energy costs for industries in EU countries have increased dramatically and the inflation rate has soared. EU countries and their people are paying a high price for the disruption caused by the US-instigated conflict between Russia and Ukraine. European economies are being dragged into recession, with inflation rocketing, and the devastating squeeze on energy supplies threatens blackouts and rationing this winter.

The EU countries are being ripped off by their ally when both sides of the Atlantic are providing both military and civilian aid to Ukraine.

What makes EU officials and European people even more angry is the fact that instead of backing down from its selfish acts, Washington has boosted its beggar-thy-neighbor policy by adopting President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, a huge tax, climate and healthcare package.

Under this act, Washington has announced a $369 billion industrial subsidy scheme to support its green industries, which has raised fears of a transatlantic trade war. Officials in Brussels are reportedly drawing up plans for an emergency war chest of subsidies to save European industries from collapse.

Many EU officials and officials from EU countries have voiced frustration at the way the Biden administration simply ignores the impact of its domestic economic policies on European allies.

EU politicians and the officials of EU countries should be reminded that Washington does not just turn a blind eye to the consequences of its actions on the EU economy and European people’s lives; it ignores their impacts on the entire world.

For the world’s sole superpower, it is simply a case of the US first and damn the rest.

By taking advantage of its status as the strongest economic and military power, it is extorting the entire world for its own gain. Its economic sanctions, long-arm jurisdiction and beggar-thy-neighbor policies are nothing more than shakedowns.

It is time for countries, including the US’ European allies, to join hands and say no to Washington’s zero-sum game.