France is pressing the United States to negotiate a settlement to a WTO ruling that has allowed the Trump administration to impose tariffs on billions of dollars worth of cheese, wine and other European exports, French Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said Friday.
“There is clearly a risk of escalation and that’s exactly what we want to avoid,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the annual World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington.
Le Maire said he was meeting with a range of U.S. officials during his visit, including U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House advisers Larry Kudlow and Jared Kushner.
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France is willing to put “all the difficulties on the table” to comply with the World Trade Organization ruling that found European countries' subsidies to Airbus violated international trade rules.
“We are ready to make a clear and serious assessment of the subsidies that had been given to Airbus,” he said.
Starting Friday, the U.S. imposed tariffs authorized by the WTO that slap a 25 percent penalty on products like cheese, wine and whiskey. The retaliation also includes a 10 percent tariff on aircrafts built in the European Union.
Le Maire said the U.S. has not imposed tariffs on the full $7.5 billion worth of retaliation it was granted by the WTO. "They have not used the total amount," he said.
A spokesperson for his office said the retaliation imposed Friday targets $1.8 billion worth of European goods.
USTR did not respond to a question on whether it was imposing the full amount of retaliation, instead only pointing to a Federal Register notice that says the annual trade value of goods subject to tariffs is $7.5 billion.
Le Maire said the EU stands ready to impose counter tariffs when the WTO makes a separate ruling, expected in the spring, in a case challenging U.S. subsidies for Boeing.
He called the move by the U.S. to hit sectors unrelated to the aerospace industry “very aggressive” and acknowledged there is domestic political pressure to take action against the U.S. sooner than next year.
The EU had considered using old retaliation cases Brussels won at the WTO to impose retaliatory tariffs but will instead limit any retaliation to the Boeing case.
“From the very beginning we have made very clear that we wanted to avoid a trade war between the EU and U.S. on this Boeing-Airbus case,” Le Maire said. “The response from the U.S. administration has been a closed door.”
Le Maire also said the U.S. and France are not far from a compromise on a separate threat of tariffs over France’s digital services tax. The Trump administration is in the midst of a trade investigation that could lead to even more penalties against France.
President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to negotiate a solution on the digital tax when they met at the G-7 leaders meeting in August. Members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development are working on an international tax regime on digital services by 2020.
“There is no issue. There is a solution,” Le Maire said. “We are not far from a compromise on this very delicate issue so let’s forget other sanctions. We are fed up with that politic where you have threat, threat every day."
“There is clearly a risk of escalation and that’s exactly what we want to avoid,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the annual World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington.
Le Maire said he was meeting with a range of U.S. officials during his visit, including U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House advisers Larry Kudlow and Jared Kushner.
Story Continued Below
France is willing to put “all the difficulties on the table” to comply with the World Trade Organization ruling that found European countries' subsidies to Airbus violated international trade rules.
“We are ready to make a clear and serious assessment of the subsidies that had been given to Airbus,” he said.
Starting Friday, the U.S. imposed tariffs authorized by the WTO that slap a 25 percent penalty on products like cheese, wine and whiskey. The retaliation also includes a 10 percent tariff on aircrafts built in the European Union.
Le Maire said the U.S. has not imposed tariffs on the full $7.5 billion worth of retaliation it was granted by the WTO. "They have not used the total amount," he said.
A spokesperson for his office said the retaliation imposed Friday targets $1.8 billion worth of European goods.
USTR did not respond to a question on whether it was imposing the full amount of retaliation, instead only pointing to a Federal Register notice that says the annual trade value of goods subject to tariffs is $7.5 billion.
Le Maire said the EU stands ready to impose counter tariffs when the WTO makes a separate ruling, expected in the spring, in a case challenging U.S. subsidies for Boeing.
He called the move by the U.S. to hit sectors unrelated to the aerospace industry “very aggressive” and acknowledged there is domestic political pressure to take action against the U.S. sooner than next year.
The EU had considered using old retaliation cases Brussels won at the WTO to impose retaliatory tariffs but will instead limit any retaliation to the Boeing case.
“From the very beginning we have made very clear that we wanted to avoid a trade war between the EU and U.S. on this Boeing-Airbus case,” Le Maire said. “The response from the U.S. administration has been a closed door.”
Le Maire also said the U.S. and France are not far from a compromise on a separate threat of tariffs over France’s digital services tax. The Trump administration is in the midst of a trade investigation that could lead to even more penalties against France.
President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to negotiate a solution on the digital tax when they met at the G-7 leaders meeting in August. Members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development are working on an international tax regime on digital services by 2020.
“There is no issue. There is a solution,” Le Maire said. “We are not far from a compromise on this very delicate issue so let’s forget other sanctions. We are fed up with that politic where you have threat, threat every day."
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