US tariffs on European exports 'illegal and a mistake', says Emmanuel Macron
'Threats over trade war will solve nothing of the serious imbalances in world trade. Nothing'
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Your support makes all the difference.Emmanuel Macron has denounced the imposition of US tariffs on steel and aluminium as a mistake and illegal.
The French president said he would speak to Donald Trump later tonight following the US president's announcement of large tariffs from midnight after talks aimed at staving them off collapsed.
The announcement of tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Europe, Mexico and Canada also drew swift vows of retaliation from other allies, inflamed tensions and sent stock markets sinking.
"Unilateral responses and threats over trade war will solve nothing of the serious imbalances in world trade. Nothing," Mr Macron said.
In a clear reference to Mr Trump, he added: "These solutions might bring symbolic satisfaction in the short term... One can think about making voters happy by saying, 'I have a victory, I'll change the rules, you'll see’.”
But the French leader said those who waged “bilateral trade wars... saw an increase in prices and an increase in unemployment”.
Wilbur Ross, the US commerce secretary, announced the sanctions from Paris, where he had been negotiating with EU leaders who were trying to avert the tariffs by extending exemptions.
Mr Ross said talks had not made enough progress to warrant a further reprieve for Europe, Canada or Mexico, which are in negotiations with the US over North America's free trade agreement.
Mr Trump has repeatedly argued that cheap imports harm US industry and cost US workers their jobs, saying they were an "easy battle to win".
The EU has responded by threatening retaliatory tariffs on US goods and to take America to the World Trade Organisation’s “trade court” to get Mr Trump’s policy declared illegal.
German chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday stressed her opposition to the looming tariffs even before the US announcement, saying they were incompatible with WTO rules. She said if there were no exemptions, "we will respond in an intelligent, decisive and joint way".
France's finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, called the tariffs "unjustified, unjustifiable and dangerous".
"This will only lead to the victory of those who want less growth, those who don't think we can develop our economies across the world," he said.
France's junior trade minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne said he expected EU counter-measures to be in place by mid-June.
And Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, said immediately after the US announcement that the EU would introduce counter-balancing measures in “the coming hours”.
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