Customs duties: French Economy Minister hopes for an agreement with Washington "this weekend"

French Economy Minister Eric Lombard said on Saturday, July 5, that he hoped for an agreement "this weekend" to avoid the application of punitive customs duties by the United States, which he compared to a "thug," believing that failing this, the EU would have to respond with "more vigor."

"As for tariffs, it's likely going to be decided this weekend since a delegation from the [European] Commission is in Washington," the minister declared at the Aix-en-Provence Economic Meetings. "And I hope we'll have an agreement this weekend. And if not, Europe will probably have to be more forceful in its response to restore the balance."

In early April, Donald Trump sent shockwaves through the roof by announcing a drastic increase in tariffs against the rest of the world: a minimum surcharge of 10%, which could rise to 50% for countries exporting more to the United States than they import from America.

He then suspended these tariffs, paving the way for trade negotiations with each of the partners. He set a deadline of July 9 for Washington and its partners to reach an agreement, failing which they would face an increase in customs duties on their exports to the United States.

Donald Trump said Friday that he had signed letters addressed to the United States' trading partners regarding the application of punitive customs duties by Washington, "probably twelve" of which will be sent on Monday.

These tariffs could vary from country to country, from China to the European Union, from a range of 10% to 20% to a much higher range of 60% to 70%, according to Trump. The countries in question will begin paying on August 1, he said.

"Imagine the world as a playground where everyone plays hopscotch with supervisors and respects the rules. And then three bullies arrive who no longer respect any of the rules, who knock over the gaming tables, who push around the children who were playing quietly. It's a world of predators," said Eric Lombard regarding the United States, Russia, and China. The Minister of Economy also considered it "essential" for the European Union to erect customs barriers to protect its industry from China.

"We did it on steel […]. We did it on the automobile industry, which also earned us strange retaliation on cognac. But we have to do it on all of our industrial segments. Otherwise, the Chinese policy of having a production capacity that exceeds 50 % of the global market share in each industrial segment will kill our industry," he warned.

Eric Lombard said he would travel to Berlin on July 16, according to his office, where he will meet with German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil and Economy and Energy Minister Katherina Reiche.