French President Emmanuel Macron will be hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden next week in a rare state visit aimed at highlighting Franco-American friendship rather than the bitter economic competition between the two sides of the pond.

The visit that is supposed to be a show of friendship comes more than a year after Washington, London and Canberra torpedoed a big French submarine contract, pushing France-U.S. relations to breaking point.

Yet, the elephants in the Oval Room will be the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and energy supplies.

Alarmed by Biden's Inflation Reduction Act

Macron will raise concerns about the effects of American industrial subsidies and tax breaks during talks with Biden, a top French official said on Friday.

France and other European Union (EU) countries are increasingly alarmed that the IRA Biden signed in August will distort transatlantic trade to give American companies an unfair advantage.

The act, designed to accelerate the U.S. transition to a low-carbon economy, contains around $370 billion in green energy subsidies and tax cuts for U.S.-made electric cars and batteries.

"We cannot risk more de-industrialization in Europe at a time when we're trying to re-industrialize," a senior aide to Macron told reporters ahead of the French leader's trip.

The biggest concern is about "American investment in Europe being repatriated," he said during a briefing ahead of what will be the first state visit by a foreign leader to Washington under Biden.

Although Macron appreciates that no major changes can be made to a law seen as one of Biden's main legislative achievements, he is hoping to carve out "exemptions" to help European industries.

"We can imagine that the American administration agrees to exemptions for a certain number of European industrial sectors, perhaps in the same way as they're doing for Canada and Mexico," the aide added.

Macron, 44, has long favored a Buy Europe Act that would offer incentives and requirements for consumers and governments to buy EU-made equipment.

But the idea faces resistance from countries such as the Netherlands and Germany, which worry about the costs and the impact on trade.

"The message from the Americans is 'Do your own IRA,'" the French aide said.

Macron "will draw the necessary conclusions for us as Europeans from the conversations," he added.

On November 8, Macron told French executives that the U.S. has "massive subsidies in some sectors that make our projects uncompetitive."

"I think that's unfriendly, and I will go to Washington in a spirit of friendship at the end of the month ... to simply plead for a level playing field," he said.

'Cheap gas sold at high price'

The tension over U.S. industrial policy is one of several areas of friction between the EU and Washington that Macron will raise next week during his state visit.

EU countries are also frustrated about the huge profits being made by U.S. energy exporters who supply LNG gas to Europe in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February.

"Europe is giving and suffering the most in terms of sanctions against Russia," the French official said, referring to the sanctions introduced on the Russian energy and industrial sectors.

"We see the risk of a gap developing between Europe and the U.S.," he added, stressing the need for a new "synchronization."

As early as October, Macron accused the U.S. of selling France gas that is produced cheaply but sold at a high price.

"In a spirit of great friendship, we will say to our American and Norwegian friends: 'You're super; you supply us with energy and gas, but one thing that can't go on for too long is us paying four times more than the price you sell to your industry,'" Macron said.

"That is not exactly the meaning of friendship."

(With input from agencies)