Macron says US trade confrontation with Europe and China impossible

TheUnited States will not be able to simultaneously conduct a trade confrontation with the countries of Europe and China. This was stated by French President Emmanuel Macron on February 24.

"I understand that the priority for you (the US. - Ed.) is duties against China, because, as [American] President [Donald] Trump said, China acts unfairly. But listen, you can't have a trade war with China and Europe at the same time," the French president emphasized in an interview with Fox News.

He specified that during the meeting with the American leader Donald Trump in Washington tried to convince him of this. Macron added that the imposition of U.S. duties could hinder the build-up of French defense spending.

"I believe that right now <...> there is no need to raise duties. The emergency now is to increase our (European countries') defense and security spending. How do you want us to increase security and defense spending if we are in a trade standoff?" - Macron stated.

France and the U.S. need "shared prosperity," he said. He noted that he has earmarked $120 billion for artificial intelligence developments in France, many American companies will also be affected.

How high is the threat of a trade war between the US, EU and China. Parsing

Trump signed an executive order imposing trade tariffs of 25% on goods from Canada, China and Mexico on February 1. At that time, he also promised to impose duties on goods from the EU. In response, China's State Council reported on February 4 that China would impose duties of 15% on coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States starting February 10. In addition, it was noted that tariffs of 10% will be imposed on U.S. oil, multi-cylinder cars, pickup trucks and agricultural machinery.