France wishes to harden the tone against the United States. In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s announcement on the taxation of massive customs duties to many countries, including those of the European Union, Emmanuel Macron called on the major French bosses to stop their investment project in the United States. The injunction of the President of the Republic was however not well received by business leaders.
Scandalized bosses
“What Macron says, I don’t have to wave. We have activities in the United States. There is no question of abandoning them ”let go of a CEO of a giant of the CAC 40 at the Figaro. The same for a producer of spirits who judges that he is “Out of the question” to stop work across the Atlantic. “We are not in administered economy”adds the head of a employers’ movement.
Many French groups have bet on the United States and on the economic level offered by Donald Trump. Pernod Ricard builds a bourbon distillery in Kentucky for the sum of 240 million euros, while Dior will open a new shop in New York and another in Beverly Hills, recalls Le Figaro.
“Customs duties will weigh on their activity”
Despite this, Paris still plans to tighten the screw against Washington. A source from Bercy slips on a daily basis that Emmanuel Macron’s request will be carried “To companies in which the State has participations”recalling the strong presence of saffron, Thales, Airbus, Engie, EDF Keolis and RATP Development in the United States. “All French companies will have to make pedagogy to the American authorities to explain to them that customs duties will weigh on their activity in the United States”add the same source to Figaro.
A member of the cabinet of the Minister of the Economy, Éric Lombard, also specifies that companies are urged to “Act with discernment in this period” because “Announce an investment now is right to Trump and his destabilization methods.”
However, some large bosses are more conciliatory. Emmanuel Macron’s call is seen by Gabriel Picard, president of the federation of exporters of wines and spirits, as a request to make “Common Front”and “Find the right cursor to manage the balance of power with Donald Trump, in a logic of de -escalation”. “Everyone has to do what they can be to their level so that the position of Europe is as strong as possible”also explains to Figaro Alexandre Sabot, the boss of France Industrie.
The situation under surveillance
For the time being, the big bosses intend to keep their things in the United States and monitor the situation closely. They want Brussels to fix commercial policy countermeasures strong enough to send a political message to Donald Trump, without this having an too negative impact at the economic level. A CAC 40 advisor finally slipped to Figaro that if the showdown does not cause “De-escalation”, “some will be ready to settle in the United States to benefit from inexpensive energy and the lack of local tax”.
