Customs duties: France advocates “de-escalation”, but warns that the EU is ready “to respond”

Paris – “The new threats of increased tariffs from D. Trump do not help at all during the negotiation period between the European Union and the United States. We maintain the same line: de-escalation, but we are ready to respond,” wrote French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Laurent Saint-Martin, on X on Friday.

Donald Trump returned on Friday to the assault on global trade, threatening the EU with new tariffs and also targeting a company for the first time, Apple, which is being urged to manufacture its iPhones in the United States, after several weeks of calm in the protectionist offensive launched since his return to the White House.

These announcements, via his Truth Social network, immediately sent European stock markets down, particularly luxury and automotive stocks listed in Paris, and weighed down the opening of Wall Street.

In his message, the American president expressed his impatience regarding the ongoing trade negotiations with the EU, which, according to him, “are going nowhere.”

The European Commission declined to comment. (May 23, 2025)