Macron calls on EU to ‘defend European interests’ in US tariff talks

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday condemned US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose 30-percent tariffs on the European Union, calling on the bloc to “resolutely defend European interests”.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned that Mexico and the EU would be slapped with 30-percent tariffs starting on August 1, raising the stakes in already tense negotiations with two of the largest US trading partners.

Expressing France’s “very strong disapproval” of the announcement, Macron called on the bloc to “step up the preparation of credible countermeasures by mobilising all instruments at its disposal” if the two sides failed to reach agreement by August 1.

France’s Macron calls tariffs imposed by powerful countries a form of ‘blackmail’

“France fully supports the European Commission in the negotiation that will intensify to reach a mutually acceptable agreement by August 1, so that it reflects the respect that trade partners such as the European Union and the United States owe each other,” he wrote on social media.

Earlier Saturday, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen hit out at the new tariffs threatened by Trump, but said the EU still sought a deal to avert the measures.