Macron says ready to respond to any US tariffs on Europe

French President Emmanuel Macron answers questions of journalists during a televised interview broadcasted on TV channel France 2 and in India on the eve of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit, at the Grand Palais, in Paris, on February 9, 2025. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes / POOL / AFP)

Washington, United States — French President Emmanuel Macron warned that US tariffs on Europe would hike inflation for Americans, as he vowed in an interview aired Sunday to go head-to-head with Donald Trump over financial threats.

Macron told CNN that the EU should not be a “top priority” for the United States after Trump’s repeated threats to target the bloc, having already ordered tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.

“Is the European Union your first problem? No, I don’t think so. Your first problem is China, so you should focus on the first problem,” he said, speaking in English.

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Macron warned that tariffs would harm European economies but also the United States, given the level of economic ties.

“It means if you put tariffs on a lot of sectors, it will increase the costs and create inflation in the US. Is it what your people want? I’m not so sure,” he said.

Asked if he was willing to go “head-to-head” with Trump on the issue of tariffs, Macron replied, “I already did so, and I will did (sic) it again.”

He said the EU must be ready to react to US actions, but stressed that the 27-nation bloc should mainly “act for ourselves.”

“This is why, for me, the top priority of Europe is competitiveness agenda, is defense and security agenda, is AI ambition, and let’s go fast for ourselves.

“If in the meanwhile, we have (a) tariff issue, we will discuss them and we will fix it.”