“What would the message be of having big European players that invest billions in the American economy at the same time they are hitting us,” Macron said. “We must have collective solidarity”.
It was couched as a pause but served as a warning from one leader to another. Macron and Trump enjoy a history of intense handshakes, but there had been a discernible back-channel between them also. Macron has deployed a mix of flattery and truth-talk with Trump over the past days, months and even years. The gloves now appear to have come off.
When Trump announced a 20% tariff on EU imports, it triggered an immediate reaction. He repeated assertions that the EU is pathetic and is ripping off America. Macron took the bait, but he also speaks to the EU’s collective combativeness when faced with the US economic affront.
It makes little sense for firms to invest there, while the US hits out against Europe, he said, speaking ahead of a meeting with representatives of industry groups affected by tariffs.
The French president has skin in the game, and to reinforce the point, French stocks fell. Trump, meanwhile, insisted late Thursday that the roll-out is all going “very well”.
It will be hard though for European businesses with significant US sales to follow Macron’s advice because without a strong foothold in the country, the tariffs could price them out of the market. Macron has overreached geopolitically before, calling the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) brain dead back in 2019, and it remains to be seen if companies like LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE will respond to his rally.
Trump named French maritime company CMA CGM SA and carmaker Stellantis NV as companies that have recently invested in the US, thanks to him. The French shipping giant said last month that it would invest US$20 billion (RM88.59 billion) in the US to develop maritime infrastructure.
In 2023, French direct investment in the US reached approximately US$370 billion, representing almost 7% of total foreign direct investment (FDI) in the US, according to the latest data published by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The French president met with leaders of businesses hurt by tariffs, including Airbus chief executive officer Guillaume Faury, the CEO of Safran SA, Olivier Andries; and Rodolphe Saade of CMA CGM.
Earlier Thursday, France was pushing for the EU to retaliate against US technology companies and expand the measures to the services sector, according to government spokeswoman Sophie Primas.
Macron is adamant that the EU shouldn’t shy away from a strong response to US tariffs. He suggested the possibility of using the EU’s anti-coercion tool, its most powerful weapon, to hit US digital services, as well as “financing mechanisms for the American economy”.
This is a clear escalation. But Macron, serving his last term, seems up for the fight.