Paris - Saba:
French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Saturday that the European Union will accelerate preparations for countermeasures in response to US President Donald Trump's decision to impose 30% tariffs on EU exports to the United States, starting August 1.
Macron said in a post on the X platform: "In cooperation with the President of the European Commission (Ursula von der Leyen), France expresses its categorical rejection of the announcement of a 30% tariff on EU exports to the United States."
The French president stressed that "the European Commission must demonstrate the Union's willingness to protect its interests," noting that this "requires accelerating work on developing effective retaliatory measures if an agreement is not reached before August 1."
Macron explained that "the ongoing negotiations between Brussels and Washington were based on a serious offer from the European Union, but they did not lead to an agreement."
Earlier on Saturday, Trump announced the imposition of new 30% tariffs on European goods, warning that if the European Union decided to retaliate by increasing tariffs on American goods, Washington would add this increase to the 30%.
For her part, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her hope for a trade deal with the United States before the new tariffs take effect.