Speaking ahead of his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden recently, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that U.S. trade policy could "fragment the West.”
That might sound alarmist, but he was right. Biden’s programs to subsidize clean-energy investment and high-tech manufacturing have much to recommend them — but, executed incautiously, they do pose a threat to international economic cooperation. The White House should heed Macron’s message and guard against this risk.
A big expansion of investment in clean energy is crucial. But the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed into law in August, channels much of its $369 billion outlay to U.S. producers. (For instance, electric cars made in America can get up to $7,500 in tax breaks; those made in Europe can’t.)