French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Friday that the reduction of US tariffs to 10% is a "fragile pause" and stressed that Europe must continue to "mobilise all available levers to protect itself," in a message posted on X.
"With the European Commission, we must show strength: Europe must keep working on all necessary countermeasures," he stated following Donald Trump’s surprise announcement on Wednesday of a pause in the tariff increase, limited to 25% for steel, aluminium, and automobiles, and 10% for other products.
He particularly highlighted the need for the European Union to protect itself from "third-country flows," especially from China, which remains heavily taxed, and whose influx of products could "destabilise our market."
Macron reiterated that the European Commission’s goal is "simple: negotiate to have these unjust tariffs removed and secure a balanced agreement without asymmetry," as this three-month pause represents "90 days of uncertainty for all our businesses, on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond."
"We are right to fight; jobs and the livelihoods of our regions are at stake here," the French President emphasised.
His Prime Minister, François Bayrou, was scheduled to visit the cheese and wine fair in Coulommiers (Seine-et-Marne) on Friday morning to show support for sectors potentially affected by the tariffs.
