Trump threatened Macron with response to decision to tax US goods
Former US President Donald Trump has revealed that he threatened French President Emmanuel Macron with a 100% tariff on French wines and champagne in response to the European country’s decision to impose a 25% tax on goods from US companies.
Speaking at a rally in front of supporters in the state of Georgia, Trump noted that he had initially instructed his aides and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to try to resolve the issue with French authorities through diplomatic channels, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
I said you have one more chance to influence this decision, but they came back and said, ‘Sir, they don’t agree,'” Trump said, describing the situation.
Trump then called Macron personally. I said, ‘Emmanuel, here’s the deal. You are unfairly taxing our companies with a 25 per cent tax. If you don’t get rid of it by the end of the day, I’m going to put a 100 per cent tariff on every bottle of wine and champagne that comes into the United States,'” Trump said.
According to Trump, Macron agreed to the US terms after a brief discussion. He called me back and said, ‘We’ve decided to cancel the tax on American companies. Trump added that such drastic measures would help protect the interests of American companies abroad.
Trump noted that his administration would not tolerate such actions and was prepared to be tough to protect US economic interests.