During a press conference held after the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the importance of quickly resolving trade disputes with the United States, calling for the establishment of equal tariffs between the two sides.
The French president believes that a zero-tariff agreement would be the optimal solution in the current geopolitical situation. However, if it is necessary to agree on ten per cent rates, this may also be acceptable.
Macron called for a “balanced solution” to be found as soon as possible, stressing that the absence of an agreement would maintain high tariffs in a number of sectors, which would result in losses. He expressed confidence in the need for the European Union to use all available mechanisms to put pressure on the US to achieve fair terms.
US President Donald Trump had earlier announced the introduction of 50% tariffs on imports from EU countries from June 1, noting that European companies could avoid this by producing goods in the US.
Trump believes that one of the EU’s goals was to gain a trade advantage over the US. However, on May 26, the American leader announced that the introduction of new tariffs would be postponed until July 9.
