French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday conceded that his recent conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump did little to make him optimistic about dodging fresh American trade tariffs for the European Union.
Addressing in Porto, Portugal, Macron denounced the Trump administration’s trade policies, specifically its understanding of value-added taxes (VAT), which he described as fundamentally flawed. His comments followed a diplomatic trip to Washington just days earlier, where he attempted to discourage Trump from erecting trade barriers.
In spite of Macron’s efforts, Trump announced a 25% tariff on the entire EU import, saying the bloc was constructed to exploit the United States. “I departed with very little hope,” Macron said in his address to reporters, pointing out that the US administration mistakenly perceives VAT as a tariff.
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, standing alongside Macron, urged further dialogue but warned that Europe would be forced to react with similar trade retaliations. He also worried that the actual recipients of the increasing tensions would be other world economies which were not directly impacted by the tariffs.
At the same time, the European Commission promised Wednesday to act aggressively and quickly on what it said were “unjustified obstructions to fair and free trade.
