President Joe Biden and top EU official Ursula von der Leyen announced progress in defusing a transatlantic trade dispute Friday and renewed their commitment to back Ukraine against Russia.

In a limited, but concrete step, the two leaders announced after Oval Office talks that negotiations will begin on giving EU producers of critical minerals access to the US market under Biden's signature program to encourage climate friendly industries.

They also pledged to coordinate generally as both US and EU economies pivot to the booming electric vehicle and other green sectors.

Von der Leyen, president of the European Union Commission, has worked closely with Biden in forging an unprecedented response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine over the last year.

Biden told von der Leyen that the alliance to support Ukraine marked "a new era."

And in their joint statement later, they said that Russian President Vladimir Putin "thought that he would divide us, and yet we are more united than ever. We stand together in our unwavering support for Ukraine for as long as it takes."

Electric vehicle tensions

However, tensions are swirling in Europe over the Biden administration's landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a government spending spree championing US manufacturing in climate-friendly technologies.

The White House said that "challenges posed by the People's Republic of China" featured prominently in the talks.

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