Von der Leyen-Biden, a new pact in an anti-China key

The EU and the US are trying to overcome the tensions caused by the maxi incentive plan launched by Joe Biden to attract investments in the United States by renewing the alliance against Russia and finding a new common opponent: China.

In her first visit to the White House since November 2021, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen conveyed to the American president Europe's goodwill to collaborate with Washington to reduce dependence on Beijing and limit exports of tech products.

Biden for his part has promised the EU leader that his incentives will not penalize European companies.

    With the war in Ukraine still raging, Von der Leyen's visit was the perfect opportunity for the US administration to soothe its European partners over the irritation caused by the Inflation Reduction Act, the more than $375 billion measure that provides mega subsidies to American companies engaged in the energy transition.

"We want to find common ground and maximize the realization of projects so that each of us can build our own industrial base", assured a White House official a few hours after the meeting, explaining that "if European and American incentives don't align will cancel each other out."

In other words, the new state aid scheme for green tech, just launched by Brussels in the wake of the IRA,

it cannot conflict with Biden's plan.

To ensure that European companies can also benefit from US subsidies, the American president and von der Leyen have begun work on a trade agreement on critical minerals, essential for the production of electric vehicle batteries.

If an agreement were reached, Washington and Brussels would obtain a double result: on the one hand, the use of critical European minerals would allow companies from the Old Continent to take advantage of American incentives, on the other, dependence on China, rich in these, would be reduced elements.

the American president and von der Leyen have begun work on a trade agreement on critical minerals, essential for the production of electric vehicle batteries.

If an agreement were reached, Washington and Brussels would obtain a double result: on the one hand, the use of critical European minerals would allow companies from the Old Continent to take advantage of American incentives, on the other, dependence on China, rich in these, would be reduced elements.

the American president and von der Leyen have begun work on a trade agreement on critical minerals, essential for the production of electric vehicle batteries.

If an agreement were reached, Washington and Brussels would obtain a double result: on the one hand, the use of critical European minerals would allow companies from the Old Continent to take advantage of American incentives, on the other, dependence on China, rich in these, would be reduced elements.

    And this is the other central point of the talks between Biden and the president of the European Commission.

With regard to relations with Beijing, "there is total alignment between the US and the EU", assured a White House official.

A "convergence" of positions that has occurred above all in the last year, despite the fact that there are still differences in relations, above all from an economic point of view.

As proof that the EU also wants to gradually free itself from the Dragon, von der Leyen brought to the Oval Office the decision of the Netherlands, immediately after that of Japan, to block the export of technologies for the production of microchips to Beijing.

A victory for Biden who had been trying to convince the allies to take this decisive step for months.

    For Washington, Beijing - this is the message from the United States to the European Union - does not represent a threat to the West only from an economic point of view.

According to reports, the American president is ready to share intelligence information with Brussels that demonstrates that China is ready to supply weapons to Russia in its war against Ukraine.

Reaffirming the strength of transatlantic unity in the face of Vladimir Putin's aggression, Von der Leyen and Biden intend to launch new sanctions not only against Moscow but also against "third countries", an expression with which the US administration refers to usually in Beijing.

    Also on the table are the joint efforts of the US and the EU to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian natural gas and mitigate the effects of the conflict in Ukraine on the energy crisis in the Old Continent.

Finally, a topic close to the heart of Biden's president's Irish ancestry, Northern Ireland.

    The head of the White House appreciated the role played by the president of the European Commission in overcoming the post-Brexit impasse and reaching an agreement with Great Britain thus avoiding a trade war.

The American president, among other things, is planning a visit to Belfast next month on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreements.