French President Emmanuel Macron has criticized US trade policy in strong terms. During the World Economic Forum in Davos, he accused the US of deliberately weakening Europe and putting it under pressure with economic coercion and political games.
Trump threatens punitive tariffs and points to ‘buying Greenland’
Macron is referring to the increasingly aggressive actions of Donald Trump, who this week threatened, among other things, with a 200 percent import tax on French wine. Reason: Macron would not want to join Trump’s latest ‘peace initiative’ and refused to become a member of his so-called Board of Peace.
Other European countries are also targets of American pressure. From February 1, the US will introduce additional import duties of 10 percent on goods from eight EU countries, with a possible increase to 25 percent in June. Trump only wants to scrap those tariffs if Europe agrees to a deal on the takeover of Greenland.
According to Trump, NATO exercises on Greenland territory, without American consent, cross a red line. What started as symbolic military consultations has now grown into a serious trade conflict, with direct economic threats to Europe.
EU freezes trade deal with US and considers countermeasures
The rising tensions between the US and Europe are not without consequences. The European Union has halted the ratification process of the trade deal with America. That agreement, which was concluded last summer, was already under fire. Almost all tariffs on American products would disappear, while European exporters would have to pay up to 50 percent taxes on steel and aluminum, among other things.
Brussels is now considering countermeasures. The European Commission is threatening tariffs on 93 billion euros worth of American goods, including cars, planes and bourbon. These sanctions could come into effect as early as February 7.
Macron also wants the EU to use the Anti-Coercion Instrument, Europe’s so-called trade bazooka. This legal tool has never been used, but it gives Brussels the opportunity to crack down on countries that exert economic pressure. This can be done through import duties, new taxes on tech companies or the exclusion of American companies from European tenders.
On Thursday, European government leaders will meet for an emergency meeting about their joint response.
‘American tariffs mainly affect American companies’
Despite Trump’s fierce tone, there is also perspective. According to Agathe Desmarais of think tank ECFR, the American threats are mainly symbolic: “American tariffs are actually a tax on American companies and consumers. As much as 96 percent of the costs are borne by importers within the US.”
Source: https://newsbit.nl/macron-haalt-uit-amerika-probeert-europa-economisch-af-te-persen/
