EU says it will ‘respond in kind’ if US slaps tariffs on France

The European Union will “respond in kind” if the U.S. imposes tariffs on France over a new French digital tax law, European Council President Donald Tusk said Saturday.

Tusk’s comment at a press conference during the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in France followed a renewed threat by President Trump to put a tariff on imported French wines.

“I will protect French wine with genuine determination for many reasons,” Tusk said, according to Fox Business.{mosads}

“The EU stands by France. If the U.S. imposes tariffs on France, the EU will respond in kind,” he added.

Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving for the G-7 summit Friday night that he is not a “big fan” of tech companies but added that “those are great American companies, and frankly I don’t want France going out and taxing our companies.”

“And if they do that … we’ll be taxing their wine like they’ve never seen before,” he said.

Trump first issued the threat last month over France’s new digital tax law, which places a 3 percent tax on yearly revenues of technology companies that make at least 750 million euros annually and provide services to users in France. It affects companies such as Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon.

“France just put a digital tax on our great American technology companies,” he tweeted last month. “We will announce a substantial reciprocal action on [French President Emmanuel] Macron’s foolishness shortly. I’ve always said American wine is better than French wine!”

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire responded to the tweet, urging Trump to refrain from imposing the tax on wine.

“It’s in our interest to have a fair digital tax,” he said. “Please do not mix the two issues. The key question now is how we can we get consensus on fair taxation of digital activities.”

The U.S. Trade Representative has launched an investigation into whether the digital tax law is “discriminatory or unreasonable and burdens or restricts United States commerce.”

Trump and Macron met Saturday to kick off bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the G-7 summit. Macron discussed agenda items for the summit, such as climate change, and underscored that “we will be allies, friends.”

Trump spoke briefly, saying the pair “actually have a lot in common” and “have been friends a long time.”

Updated: 10:54 a.m.