Macron, Sanchez agree on US trade dispute response

BARCELONA - French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez joined forces on Thursday to call for a "proactive" European response to a brewing trade dispute with Washington over alleged protectionism.

Speaking in Barcelona following a Franco-Spanish summit, the two leaders said they had reached a common position on how to respond to Washington's massive investment plan to accelerate the US' transition to green energy.

"We are both aware of the fact that we need to react in a very proactive way" to Washington's so-called Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, Macron said after signing a friendship treaty with Sanchez.

European Union countries fear the IRA, which included $369 billion of investment to tackle climate change, will unfairly disadvantage their companies because many of the subsidies only go to products that are built in North America.

Branding Washington's plan as"super aggressive", Macron wants Brussels to follow suit with a similar initiative to avoid a flight of European companies relocating to take advantage of the US subsidies.

Seeking Madrid's support for his stance was a central aim of Macron's Barcelona visit. He is scheduled to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday to drum up further backing. Scholz is expected in Paris to mark 60 years since the signing of a Franco-German postwar friendship treaty.

Earlier on Thursday, Macron and Sanchez held talks at the National Art Museum of Catalonia and signed a friendship and cooperation treaty reinforcing bilateral ties on issues such as migration, defense and energy.

Macron, Sanchez and their government ministers tackled a broad range of issues of mutual concern,including energy transition, transport interconnections, migration and support for Ukraine.

The Macron-Sanchez summit comes just three months after Paris,Madrid and Lisbon agreed to build a massive underwater hydrogen pipeline connecting Barcelona and Marseille that will be key for the EU's energy independence.

Talking to journalists, Sanchez stressed the importance of the two countries working together on "projects with enormous potential", such as the H2Med green hydrogen pipeline, which will link France, Spain and Portugal.

Agencies - Xinhua