‘Brutal’: Macron vows to protect Europe after US lands shock trade blow

French President Emmanuel Macron has attacked US President Donald Trump for his “brutal” tariffs on the EU, as European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels was ready to hit back with punitive measures of its own.

Macron called on Europe to halt all investments in the US after Trump slapped the EU with a 20 per cent tariff. The tax is double the 10 per cent Washington levied on most imports.

French President Emmanuel Macron holds a meeting in Paris with representatives of industries affected by the US tariffs.Credit: AP

“This decision will affect all sectors of our economies,“ Macron said after describing Trump’s announcement as “brutal”, “unfounded” and a “shock to international trade”.

“We’re not naive, so we’re going to protect ourselves,” he told an emergency meeting of business leaders in Paris, before calling for the suspension of European investment.

“What would be the message of having major European players investing billions of euros in the American economy at a time when they are hitting us?” Macron said.

“[Europeans] need to remain united and determined in this phase. And I say this also because I know what can happen – the biggest players have a tendency to go it alone, and that’s not a good idea.”

He said an EU response would come in two stages, the first in mid-April. A second “more massive” response would come at the end of the month after discussions with member states.

Sales of French wine and spirits are expected to drop by at least 20 per cent in the US, as the cost of the tariffs will be passed to consumers.

Tariffs were even higher in some sectors such as cars, pharmaceuticals, steel and aluminium, Macron said.

French Prime Minister Francis Bayrou said: “It’s an immense difficulty for Europe. I think it’s also a catastrophe for the United States and for US citizens.”

The EU’s 27 member states outsource trade matters such as tariffs to the European Commission. Von der Leyen said the tariffs were “a major blow to the world economy” that would have “dire” consequences for millions but she kept the door open for further negotiations with Washington.

“We are already finalising a first package of countermeasures in response to tariffs on steel. And we are now preparing for further countermeasures to protect our interests and our businesses if negotiations fail,” von der Leyen said.

The first retaliatory tariffs are understood to be on goods produced in Republican states that are vulnerable for the mid-term elections. They include Kentucky bourbon, playing cards and Harley Davidson motorcycles.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck held up a sheath of papers containing what he said were EU retaliatory measures against the US at a press conference on Thursday but he refused to share any details.

Workers load barrels of bourbon on to a truck at The Jim Beam Distillery in Kentucky.Credit: Getty Images

“These are the countermeasures,” he said. “Printed double-sided, as you can see, on the front and the back.

“Donald Trump buckles under pressure, corrects his announcements under pressure, but the logical consequence is that he must also feel the pressure, and this pressure must now be exerted from Germany, from Europe.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: “It’s perfectly obvious: even if Europe did nothing at all, it would lead to economic difficulties for the US. All this is basic economics that we have been able to read about in the textbooks on trade wars for 100 years.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who considers herself a friend and ally of Trump, branded the tariffs as “wrong”.

There are fears in Italy that US tariffs will hit luxury fashion items hard.Credit: Bloomberg

She said she would keep talking to Washington in the hope of striking some sort of better deal before calling an emergency meeting of her key ministers to discuss the tariffs.

There are fears in Italy that the tariffs will hit signature products such as wine, cheese, prosciutto, fashion and luxury goods hard.

The president of a consortium of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese-makers said the tariffs were “absurd” and that they would be raised from 15 per cent to 35 per cent.

The wine sector is likely to lose €323 million ($565 million) in revenue each year, according to the head of the Italian Union of Wines.

Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin said there was “no justification” for the tariffs which “drive inflation, hurt people on both sides of the Atlantic and put jobs at risk”.

Ireland had a record €50.1 billion trade surplus with the US last year and the tariffs could cost Ireland more than €18 billion in lost trade, hitting the dairy and whisky sectors especially hard.

Dublin fears there will be future measures from Washington to bring outsourced manufacturing jobs in the lucrative pharmaceutical sector back to the US.

France and Germany have suggested targeting US tech firms in response but Ireland, where companies like Apple, Google and Meta have their European headquarters, are opposed to the countermeasure.

Martin said he was not in favour of a digital services tax and he called for a “considered” and “measured” response from Brussels.

New US tariffs could reduce Polish GDP by 0.4 per cent and losses could exceed 10 billion zloty ($4.1 billion), Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, describing it as “a severe and unpleasant blow”.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced an immediate €14 billion package to mitigate the impact. “Americans will also see their purchasing power and businesses decline,” he said.

China was hit with a 37 per cent tariff on its exports to the US, which, added to the 20 per cent tariffs that came into effect earlier this year, make it the highest taxed country. Its total rate is 54 per cent.

Beijing vowed to take the “necessary measures” in retaliation and said the tariffs were “typical unilateral bullying practice” that “seriously violates WTO rules”.

Vehicles waiting for shipment at a lot of a shipping terminal in Shanghai, China,Credit: Bloomberg

Chinese state media dubbed the new US policy as Trump’s “tariff tantrum”.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he did not understand how the US calculated there was a 20 per cent tariff on US imports.

Canada was not included in the latest tariffs but it still has measures on steel and aluminium. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said: “We are going to fight these tariffs with countermeasures. We are going to protect our workers.”

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said: “We have serious concerns about the consistency of these measures with the WTO Agreement and the Japan-US Trade Agreement.”

The Telegraph, London