Biden news - live: Macron confronts host over US’s ‘super aggressive’ Inflation Reduction Act

French president Emmanuel Macron is expected to confront his host Joe Biden over the impact of new American subsidies on European markets during his state visit to the US today.

Yesterday, Mr Macron described the Inflation Reduction Act as “super aggressive” toward European companies, in a meeting with American lawmakers at the Library of Congress, one participant told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

European leaders have complained about the legislative package, signed by Mr Biden in August, that offers massive subsidies for US-made products. They say it unfairly disadvantages non-American companies and harms their economies as Europe deals with the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the legislation “presents significant opportunities for European firms as well as benefits to EU energy security,” when asked about European concerns.

Mr Macron arrived in Washington on Tuesday for his second state visit to the country since taking office in 2017. He kickstarted his three-day trip with a visit to the Nasa headquarters with vice president Kamala Harris.

Key points

• Macron confronts US over 'super aggressive' Inflation Reduction Act

• White House defends IRA amid Macron criticism

• Space represents ‘new place of conflict’, says Macron

• Bidens to serve Maine lobster to Macron despite Whole Foods ban

In pictures: Macrons and Bidens after dinner at Fiola Mare

06:55 , Namita Singh

Choices will ‘fragment the west’: Macron takes aim at Inflation Reduction Act

06:40 , Namita Singh

Presidents Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron are celebrating the longstanding US-French relationship – but these are friends with differences. The French president is using his visit to Washington to sharply criticise aspects of the US president’s signature climate law as a bad deal for Europe.

French president made clear that he and other European leaders remain deeply concerned about the incentives in a sweeping new climate-related law that favour American-made climate technology, including electric vehicles.

Mr Macron yesterday criticised the legislation, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, during a luncheon with US lawmakers and again during a speech at the French embassy. The French president said that while the Biden administration’s efforts to curb climate change should be applauded, the subsidies will be an enormous setback for European companies.

“The choices that have been made ... are choices that will fragment the West,” Mr Macron said at the French embassy.

He added that the legislation “creates such differences between the United States of America and Europe that all those who work in many companies (in the US), they will just think, ‘We don’t make investments any more on the other side of the Atlantic.’”

Grammy award-winning Jon Batiste to provide music for dinner

06:29 , Namita Singh

Grammy award-winning New Orleans native Jon Batiste will provide music during the state dinner for French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte at the White House.

Joining Batiste will be his father, Michael Batiste, the US Marine Band and the Army and Air Force Strolling Strings.

The event was produced with help from Fete, an event planning company based in New York City.Jill Biden recalled that when she flew to Japan to support Team USA in the Olympics, she ended up cheering alongside Macron during a three-on-three basketball game.

Although they were rooting for opposing teams, “there was a camaraderie that we shared,” she said.With the state dinner, she said “our hope is that the end result will be a night that balances the beauty of our friendship with a seriousness of purpose, and we hope that French citizens everywhere feel the warmth of our welcome.”

Last night the Bidens and Macrons dined at Fiola Mare, an Italian seafood restaurant on the Georgetown waterfront. They spent about two hours at the restaurant before heading their separate ways.

Thursday’s state dinner, the first in three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will not be a new experience for Macron. The French president was invited to the US on a state visit by then-president Donald Trump in 2018.

Mr Trump and his wife Melania took Mr Macron and his wife on a helicopter ride over Washington – a city designed by Frenchman Pierre L’Enfant – and the Potomac River to Mount Vernon, the estate of George Washington, America’s first president. Macron was also treated to a state dinner.

Bidens to serve Maine lobster to Macron despite Whole Foods ban over its danger to whales

05:49 , Namita Singh

American Osetra caviar, butter-poached lobster from Maine, beef, and California wines will be presented before Emmanuel Macron for a state dinner hosted by president Joe Biden for his French counterpart.

The Biden family and the Macrons will be part of a red, white and blue-themed gathering at a pavilion set up on the South Lawn of the White House for the first state visit hosted by the American president since he was elected to the office in 2021.

The menu, released in advance of the dinner to be served to 300-400 guests on Thursday, showed the gathering will dine on shallot marmalade, a selection of cheese from three different states, potatoes and beef, and wash it down with wines from California.

My colleague Alisha Rahaman Sarkar reports:

Bidens to serve Maine lobster to Macron despite Whole Foods ban

Video: Space represent the ‘new place of conflict’, says Macron

05:48 , Namita Singh

‘Setting dinner table can be an act of love,’ says Jill Biden

05:38 , Namita Singh

Everything from the menu to the entertainment to the table settings and other touches for the glitzy dinner were designed by the White House — and first lady Jill Biden — to highlight the ties that bind America and its oldest ally, France.

A state dinner is a high diplomatic honor that the United States reserves for its closest allies.

“The design of this dinner was inspired by the shared colors of our flags, red white and blue, and our common values, liberty and democracy, equality and fellowship,” Ms Biden said. “These form the bedrock upon which our enduring friendship was built.”

The first lady said she was handling the dinner the way that her mother handled family dinners when she was growing up. Her mother brought out the china, fresh flowers and lit candles “even if we were only having fish sticks from the freezer.”

“I learned that setting a table can be an act of love,” she said, before journalists were permitted to see the tablescapes for the dinner, which is part of a broader state visit to the United States by Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte.

Jill Biden

White House social secretary Carlos Elizondo, who has worked for the Bidens for more than a decade, said “making people feel comfortable and at home” matters most to the couple.

In pictures: Biden-Macron state dinner preparation

05:20 , Namita Singh

American cheese on White House state dinner menu for France

05:06 , Namita Singh

Maine lobster poached in butter, beef with shallot marmalade and an American cheese trio will be served when French president Emmanuel Macron takes his seat as the guest of honor at a red-white-and-blue themed White House state dinner, the first for president Joe Biden.

Dessert will be orange chiffon cake, roasted pears and creme fraiche ice cream.

Everything from the menu to the entertainment to the table settings and other touches were designed by the White House — and first lady Jill Biden — to highlight the ties that bind America and its oldest ally, France.

The dinner will be held in a heated pavilion on the South Lawn with a guest list that is expected to top 300. Guests will dine at a mix of square and rectangular tables, covered with dark blue silk cloths and decorated with candles and arrangements of red, white and blue flowers, including roses and irises.

Report:

American cheese on White House state dinner menu for France

Space represent the ‘new place of conflict’, says Macron

05:05 , Namita Singh

French president Emmanuel Macron earlier yesterday visited Nasa headquarters with vice president Kamala Harris and said US-French cooperation was important to counter the risk of conflict in space. The two announced new US-French cooperation on space during a meeting in Paris a year ago.

Mr Macron said space represents “a new place of conflict” and that it was important for France and the United States to work together on setting rules and norms because they share a commitment to science as well as democratic values.

“We have crazy players in space as well, and we have rogue states there and we have new hybrid attacks,” Mr Macron said, speaking in English.

France joined the United States and several other nations in ruling out destructive, direct-ascent anti-satellite missile testing after Russia struck one of its own satellites in orbit last year, creating debris and drawing scorn from the United States and its allies.

US defends Inflation Reduction Act amid Macron criticism

04:45 , Namita Singh

The White House yesterday defended the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), amid considerable pushback from French president Emmanuel Macron during his visit.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the legislation “presents significant opportunities for European firms as well as benefits to EU energy security,” when asked about European concerns.

The IRA has provisions that will contribute to the growth of the clean energy sector globally, she added.

Macron confronts US lawmakers over 'super aggressive' Inflation Reduction Act

04:43 , Namita Singh

French president Emmanuel Macron addressed US lawmakers from both political parties on Wednesday and pushed back over new American subsidies that are riling European leaders, according to a participant in a closed-door meeting.

Mr Macron arrived in Washington on Tuesday for his second state visit to the United States since taking office in 2017, ahead of which French officials said he would confront president Joe Biden over the subsidies contained in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

In a meeting with US lawmakers at the Library of Congress, Mr Macron said the Inflation Reduction Act was “super aggressive” toward European companies, one participant told Reuters. The participant requested anonymity to discuss a private part of the meeting.

Mr Macron’s office declined to confirm the comment, which was first reported by Agence France-Presse.

European leaders have complained about the legislative package, signed by Mr Biden in August, that offers massive subsidies for US-made products, which they say unfairly disadvantages non-American companies and deals a serious blow to their economies as Europe deals with the fallout from Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine.

03:50 , Namita Singh

Welcome to The Independent’s blog on French president Emmanuel Macron‘s three-day trip to Washington, where we provide the latest on the diplomatic negotiation between the two countries, their outcome and impact on the EU and the world.