On March 14, in response to US President Trump's threat to impose a 200% tariff on EU liquor products, Eric Lombard, the French Minister of Economy and Finance, stated that the trade dispute between the US and the EU "will enter an escalation phase".
Lombard said on France 2 TV that day that Trump's move "was not unexpected". "Trump is a negotiator, and his negotiation method is to raise tariffs first."
He said, "This is a stupid war, but if we want to negotiate with him, we must be on an equal footing, and we will also raise tariffs. The EU has the right to do so. After that, we should negotiate with the US to ease the situation and reduce tariffs."
Lombard also said that the trade dispute between the US and the EU "will enter an escalation phase". Easing the situation is necessary for both the US and the EU. "The US is hurting itself by doing this."
According to another report, François Villeroy de Galhau, the governor of the Bank of France, said on March 14 that the EU has means to "retaliate" against the tariffs imposed by Trump, but hopes that the situation will not escalate further.
De Galhau described the current economic situation as "having both good and particularly bad (factors)", and believed that Trump's policies, especially the tariff policy, are the "particularly bad" factors.
De Galhau said that what is happening in the US is first of all bad news for the US economy, because "the economy is about creating prosperity together; we exchange talents, ideas, products and innovations". "Although the US economy performed well at the beginning of this year, some people have lowered their growth expectations for the US economy and started talking about the risk of a US economic recession. Therefore, this is a failed policy."