PARIS (Reuters) – Europe should respond in a firm and united manner to U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs, French industry minister Marc Ferracci said on Tuesday.
Trump substantially raised tariffs on steel and aluminium imports on Monday to a flat 25% “without exceptions or exemptions”, in a move he hopes will aid struggling industries in the United States but which risks sparking a multi-front trade war.
France is not a major producer of aluminium or steel, but Ferracci said it could be indirectly affected by the tariffs if Chinese imports stymied by American tariffs made their way to European shores.
“We should expect that there will be some effects from Donald Trump’s tariffs. Europe must respond in a united manner, because we know that Donald Trump’s strategy is to divide Europeans,” Ferracci told TF1 TV.
“We must stay united, we must respond in a firm manner. Europe is capable of doing this,” he added.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Makini Brice, editing by Ed Osmond)
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