France urges EU to strongly resist US tariffs
France wants the European Union to take strong countermeasures against tariffs imposed by the US.
According to RIA Novosti, Bloomberg quoted reliable sources as saying that some EU countries, including France, want Brussels to take strong retaliatory measures against economic pressure from the US.
The article writes: "France wants the European Union to consider for the first time the possibility of using the strongest retaliatory measures against the United States."
According to Bloomberg, Paris intends to take such a step if US President Donald Trump imposes tariffs to put pressure on the EU.
The EU could respond with a range of measures, including trade restrictions, restrictions on services and intellectual property rights, direct investment and access to public contracts.
The European Commission has no intention of imposing such measures for now and is awaiting details of economic restrictions that Washington is expected to announce in early April, the sources said.
Earlier, Benjamin Haddad, Minister of Delegation for European Affairs at the French Foreign Ministry, said the European Union would be ready, if necessary, to go further in response to the US trade tariffs, including sanctions on digital services and intellectual property. He noted that for now, the response would be “proportionate.”
From April 1, the EU will reimpose measures that were suspended against the US in 2018 and 2020. The European Commission said this is the first time they have been fully implemented. In addition, the EU is introducing additional countermeasures against the US, which will affect goods worth about 18 billion euros and will come into effect in mid-April.
