France strikes back! France has given up on illusions regarding the United States! Following U.S. President Trump's announcement of a significant tariff hike, France swiftly responded. French President Macron stated that this decision by the United States was "serious and groundless." Soon after, Macron announced at least three countermeasures. First, he emphasized that Europe must unite to face this challenge collectively rather than act independently. Second, Macron halted French companies' investments in the U.S. and called for Europe to suspend its investments in America.
Third, Macron promptly convened an emergency meeting and decided on initial countermeasures. Clearly, facing Trump's tariff increase, France was visibly angered. In fact, prior to Trump extending his policies to allies, Macron had hoped to persuade the U.S., reminding Trump that China is America's primary rival and that tariffs should primarily target China rather than allies. However, undoubtedly, Trump's indiscriminate tariff hikes completely shattered France's illusions about the U.S.
Macron's swift response and anger towards U.S. policy indicate that France may have underestimated America's bottom line, while also suggesting that France might have been caught off guard by the U.S.'s tariff increases. Now that Macron has announced a series of countermeasures, it shows that France has finally realized that it cannot yield to the current U.S., nor can Europe afford to yield to the U.S. At present, with China and Europe restarting negotiations in the new energy vehicle sector, we are unsure if Macron's stance has changed. However, to better defend French and European interests, France seems to need to pragmatically support reaching an agreement with China.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1828426098996234/
Disclaimer: The article solely represents the author's viewpoint.