Trump issues unprecedented threat to France after learning Macron doesn't want to join Peace Council: 'Did he say that?'
The leader of the White House suggested that he could use his favorite weapon – the economic one – to convince the French president to cooperate, but at the same time reminded that Macron has little left in his mandate, writes Reuters.
Donald Trump has threatened to slap 200% tariffs on French wine and champagne in an effort to persuade French President Emmanuel Macron to join the US President's “Council for Peace”, an initiative to resolve global conflicts.
The Peace Council, which would start by addressing the conflict in Gaza and then expand to other conflicts, raises questions about the role of the United Nations, and a source close to Macron said the French president plans to decline an invitation to join the initiative.
Donald Trump made public the messages he received from Emmanuel Macron. “My friend, I don't understand what you are doing in Greenland”
When asked about Macron's position, Trump replied: “Did he say that? Well, nobody wants him, because he's going to leave office very soon.”
Then he threatened tariffs. “I'm going to put a 200 percent tariff on his wines and champagne, and he's going to join, but he's not required to,” Trump said.
A Macron-Trump meeting is not yet scheduled
Macron was due to arrive in Davos on Tuesday, before returning to Paris that evening. Aides at the Élysée said there were no plans to extend his stay until Wednesday, when Trump arrives in the Swiss mountain resort.
In another blow to the French leader, Trump published a private message from Macron in which he said he did not understand Trump's actions on Greenland.
In the messages, Macron told Trump that he could arrange a meeting after Davos.
“My friend, we totally agree on Syria. We can do great things on Iran. I don't understand what you are doing in Greenland,” the message begins, according to the screenshots.
The leader from the Elysee Palace then proposed to the US president “let's try to achieve great things”.
“I can organize a G7 meeting after Davos on Thursday afternoon in Paris. I can invite the Ukrainians, the Danes, the Syrians and the Russians on the sidelines of the meeting,” the message published by Trump also states.
Macron also invited Trump to dinner in Paris on Thursday before returning to the US, according to the screenshots.
France has been one of the strongest supporters of a firmer EU stance on the US, and sources cited by French media said Macron also supports the use of the anti-coercion tool, a powerful economic weapon, after Trump claimed Greenland and announced he would impose tariffs on states that actively supported Denmark.
A problem for French manufacturers
Wines and spirits exported to the United States from the European Union are currently subject to a 15 percent customs duty — a rate the French have lobbied hard to reduce to zero since Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed a US-EU trade deal in Scotland last summer.
The United States is the largest market for French wines and spirits, with shipments to the US worth €3.8 billion in 2024.
“The fact that we're getting more and more threats is going to make it harder to invest in the industry, it's going to make it harder for companies to make their own investment decisions,” Laurence Whyatt, head of European drinks research at Barclays, was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Shares in luxury conglomerate LVMH, which owns major champagne makers including Moet & Chandon, fell 2 percent in early trading.
Gabriel Picard, president of the French wine and spirits export lobby FEVS, told Reuters on Monday, before the new threat emerged, that the industry saw a 20 percent to 25 percent drop in U.S. activity in the second half of last year as a result of earlier trade measures.
A Macron aide said the Elysee had taken note of Trump's remark and stressed that threats of taxes to influence a third party's foreign policy were unacceptable.
