France’s President Emmanuel Macron fired an undiplomatic volley at his American hosts on the first day of a rare state visit to Washington, telling lawmakers Wednesday that US industrial subsidies are “super aggressive” against French competitors.
“This is super aggressive for our business people,” an AFP reporter heard Macron tell members of Congress and business leaders, who had invited him to lunch ahead of the main part of the state visit on Thursday, when the French leader will spend most of the day with President Joe Biden.
Macron was referring to Biden’s signature policy called the Inflation Reduction Act, which is set to pour billions of dollars into environmentally friendly industries — with strong backing for US-based manufacturers.