Biden expects to hear Macron’s concerns about US EV credits

A dispute between the US and European Union over electric vehicle tax credits will come up when President Joe Biden hosts French President Emmanuel Macron this week for a state visit. 

“Certainly, the issue will most likely come up,” US National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday. “We look forward to having that discussion with our French counterparts.”

Kirby said the US officials are willing to listen to the French concerns about the policy, but believe clean energy is “not a zero sum game.”

The Inflation Reduction Act that Biden signed into law in August provides assistance to domestic manufacturers of electric vehicles but is seen as discriminatory by the European Union, South Korea and other trading partners excluded from those subsidies.

A senior administration official told reporters Monday the US sees a role for possible European subsidies to aid EU businesses who did not benefit from the tax credits in the law. 

The official said there was room for both sides to promote investment in clean energy, renewables and electric vehicles and pointed to the US-EU task force on the Inflation Reduction Act as a way to discuss those concerns. 

A French official earlier Monday said Macron would definitely raise the topic with Biden. France wants the US and Europe to come out of the dispute stronger and with an economic partnership that is on an equal footing, according to the official.