PARIS (AP) – French President Emmanuel Macron has told U.S. President Donald Trump that the new U.S. tariffs on European, Mexican and Canadian goods are illegal and a “mistake.”
Macron’s office said in a statement Friday that the two presidents spoke by phone after Trump’s administration announced the decision Thursday to impose 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent tariffs on aluminum.
The European Union is planning retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel and food goods in the coming weeks, once it calculates the exact cost to European Union companies of the U.S. tariffs. Macron pledged the riposte would be “firm” and “proportionate” and in line with World Trade Organization rules.
A man walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan’s Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo Friday, June 1, 2018. Shares were mostly higher in Asia on Friday after U.S. stocks slid amid mounting trade tensions. U.S. benchmarks fell after the Trump administration said it is imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from Europe, Canada and Mexico. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
The U.S. decision came despite last-minute talks in Paris this week to try to reach a deal.
Shoppers wait in line at a Sam’s Club in Mexico City, Thursday, May 31, 2018. The Trump administration announced Thursday it will impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Europe, Mexico and Canada after failing to win concessions from the American allies. Mexico retaliated quickly saying it would penalize U.S. imports including pork bellies, apples, grapes, cheeses and flat steel. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
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