Key points
- Trump thinks he is the master of the world: French Govt. Spokesperson
- Macron will meet with representatives of French sectors impacted by tariff
- Trump has imposed tariffs on major trade partners, including China and European Union
PARIS: The European Union (EU) is “ready for a trade war” with the United States and plans to target “online services” in response to Donald Trump’s new tariffs, the French government spokeswoman said Thursday.
“We are pretty sure that we are indeed going to see an adverse effect on production,” Sophie Primas told RTL.
“We have a whole range of tools and we are ready for this trade war,” AFP cited her as saying. “Then we will look at how we can support our production industries.”
Trump “thinks he is the master of the world”, Primas said.
“Imperialist stance”
“It is an imperialist stance that we had somewhat forgotten about, but which is returning with great force and great determination.”
Primas said the EU was preparing a two-stage response, with “an initial response”, to be put in place around mid-April, concerning aluminium and steel.
Then the EU will target “all products and services”, with the measures probably ready at the end of April, she added, saying this was still being discussed.
“But we are also going to attack services. For example, online services, which are not taxed today but could be,” Primas said.
The EU’s response could also concern “access to our procurement contracts”, she said.
Earlier, US and Western media reported that US President Trump unveiled stinging tariffs on major trade partners, including China and the European Union, on what he called “Liberation Day”.
French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Thursday with representatives of French sectors “impacted by the tariff measures” announced by Trump, his office stated.
