Trump Warns of 200% Tariffs Against France, Reveals Private Message From Macron
Trump’s aggressive criticism of France followed remarks from Paris that ridiculed Washington, poking fun at US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s explanation for Trump’s focus on the Arctic region, which belongs to Denmark.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 200 percent tariff on French wine and champagne over France’s apparent refusal to participate in his proposed “Board of Peace” in Paris.
The US leader also shared a private message he received from French President Emmanuel Macron regarding Greenland in a Truth Social post.
Trump’s attack on France came after Paris mocked US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s explanation of why Trump was so insistent on acquiring the Arctic territory belonging to Denmark.
Trump’s remarks
Referring to French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump said, “I’m going to put a 200 percent tariff on their wine and champagne. And he’ll be in it. But he doesn’t have to be in it.”
The proposed US board was ostensibly created to oversee the reconstruction of war-torn Gaza, but its role, according to the charter, does not appear to be limited to the occupied Palestinian territories.
He later posted a private message from Macron, in which the French president told Trump that the two agreed on the issues of Iran and Syria but said he didn’t understand what Trump was “doing with Greenland.”
The French president offered to meet with Trump and other G7 leaders during the World Economic Forum in Davos and said they could also invite representatives from Ukraine, Denmark, Syria, and Russia. He also offered to take Trump to dinner on Thursday.
France appears to be mocking Trump
This became evident when news agency AFP reported that France “does not intend to respond favorably” to Trump’s “Board of Peace” invitation.
A source close to the French president said the board’s charter “goes beyond the sole framework of Gaza.”
France also mocked the US over Trump’s stance on Greenland. In a post on X, the official account of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs ridiculed Scott Bessent’s justification of Trump’s move, describing it as intentionally causing harm to prevent a hypothetical future crisis.
The post read, “If there’s a fire someday, firefighters will intervene—so it’s better to burn the house down now.”
Using similar analogies, they added, “If a shark might attack someday, intervention will be necessary—so it’s better to eat the lifeguard now.” and, “If there’s a crash someday, there will be damage—so it’s better to crash the car now.”
France’s response came after Bessent defended Trump’s actions, saying the 79-year-old president was focusing on future threats from Russia in the Arctic region.
He said, “Down the road, this fight for the Arctic is going to be real… We will uphold our NATO guarantees. And if Greenland is attacked by Russia or any other area, we will be involved.”
France’s Official Response
A source close to French President Emmanuel Macron told AFP on Tuesday that Trump’s threat to impose 200 percent tariffs on French wine and champagne was “unacceptable” and “ineffective.”
After Trump threatened to impose the tariffs following France’s apparent intention to decline his invitation to join his “Board of Peace,” the source told AFP, “Tariff threats to influence our foreign policy are unacceptable and ineffective.”
