By COLLEEN LONG, SYVLIE CORBET and AAMER MADHANI
Associated Press
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.
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.
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."
But Macron criticized the climate legislation during a luncheon Wednesday with U.S. lawmakers and again during a speech at the French Embassy.
In an interview that aired Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Macron said the U.S. and France were working together well on the war in Ukraine and geopolitics overall, but not on "some economic issues." The U.S. climate bill and semiconductor legislation, he said, were not properly coordinated with Europe and created "the absence of a level playing field."
The European Union has also expressed concern that tax credits allowed for by the law would discriminate against European producers and break World Trade Organization rules.
Macron also raised eyebrows earlier this month in a speech at a summit in Bangkok when he referred to the U.S. and China as "two big elephants" that are the cusp of creating "a big problem for the rest of jungle."
The honor of this state visit is a boost to Macron diplomatically that he can leverage back in Europe. His outspoken comments help him demonstrate that he's defending French workers, even as he maintains a close relationship with Biden.
To that end, Biden praised Macron as "not just the leader of France" and for being "very outspoken and very very commanding in Europe."