Joe Biden and Ursula von der Leyen promised on Friday March 10 in Washington to avoid harmful competition in the race for energy transition. A commitment which must materialize by an agreement on certain metals and by an extensive dialogue on public aid on both sides.
When the President of the United States received the President of the European Commission by the fire in the Oval Office, there was no doubt that the main subject would be the Inflation Reduction Act. inflation.
This is a huge aid plan for the energy transition launched by Joe Biden, unashamedly supporting the made in America, in particular through tax incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles, and of which the industrialists of the Old Continent apprehend harmful effects on the European market.
To at least somewhat temper these fears, the two leaders promised, in a joint press release at the end of their meeting, to “immediately start negotiating for a targeted strategic metals deal” of the energy transition.
Avoid a competition
If Joe Biden does not intend to change his program much, he nevertheless promised the European leader to “work to avoid zero-sum competition, so that [leurs] public aid policies support the development of clean energy and employment without becoming boons for private interests”according to their joint statement.
Before the bilateral meeting began, Joe Biden recalled having promised his interlocutor a ” new era “ in the transatlantic relationship, sorely tested by his predecessor Donald Trump, and praised their unity in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“I would like to thank you for your driving role” in the conclusion of an agreement with the United Kingdom on the delicate question of the Northern Irish border after Brexit, said the American president, who is following this subject very closely. The United States and the European Union “are good friends”said Ursula von der Leyen, claiming to be “very grateful” the help given by the Americans to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian gas.
Ukraine was also on the menu of discussions, the day after a new massive salvo of Russian missiles against the country. “We are together in unwavering support for Ukraine, as long as it takes”, we read in the joint press release. Ursula von der Leyen announced that it had mainly been a question of the sanctions against Russia, of their ” Implementation “ and ways to prevent them from being circumvented.
China, absent from official statements
At a time when the United States openly accuses Beijing of considering military aid to Russia, Washington would like to finally convince the European Union to adopt a firmer position against Beijing. But the joint statement from Joe Biden and Ursula von der Leyen contains at most a coded allusion to China.
The two leaders share their “shared concerns about the challenge represented by, among other things, the policies of economic pressure, the instrumentalization of economic dependencies and non-competitive economic policies”. So many practices that Beijing is regularly accused of implementing.