Customs duties: Eric Lombard confident of an agreement with the United States

Will the tariff war resume? Economy Minister Éric Lombard believes an agreement could be reached, including discussions on energy imports into Europe from the United States.

"From the experience of the last few months, we can clearly see that the United States is in the deal," said Eric Lombard in an interview with the newspaper La Tribune dimanche , online Saturday, while the additional customs duties are in theory to be applied from July, "I think we will find a deal with the Americans."

Since returning to the White House in January, US President Donald Trump has made tariffs a key policy focus . He erected a wall of new taxes on goods entering his country, before partially reversing course and imposing a 90-day pause, which is due to end on July 9 .

As part of negotiations between the EU and Washington, "there may be discussions on energy, particularly on liquefied natural gas ( LNG )," said Eric Lombard. "Europe is still buying Russian LNG . Three LNG liquefaction plants are under construction in the Gulf of Mexico. We can therefore increase our imports of American gas, and this could be used to avoid the 10% increase in customs tariffs," the minister said.

The latter also called for firmness in dealing with Washington. "The first countermeasures on 22 billion euros of imports from the United States are on hold . We are working with the European Commission on a second, much broader package," he said. "The ideal would be to find an agreement without having to implement such a countermeasure."

The minister also said he did not fear a surge in inflation caused by the conflict between Israel and Iran. Disruptions to Iranian crude oil supplies would indeed push up oil prices . "At $68 a barrel, the market is in line with expectations. I do not see any risk of a resurgence of inflation linked to energy costs, as was the case in the first year of the Russian invasion of Ukraine," he said.