PARIS — French Economy and Finance Minister Eric Lombard said Wednesday the European Union and the United States should try to conclude a free-trade agreement.
Lombard called for “greater commercial fluidity, with the horizon of a genuine free-trade agreement between the U.S. and Europe” during a event in Washington on Wednesday hosted by news outlet Semafor. He called for “a new partnership between Europe and the United States, for growth, sovereignty, and security.”
The proposal is both surprising, given France was an outspoken opponent of TTIP — a proposed transatlantic trade deal that was negotiated between 2013 and 2016 — and unlikely given the disagreements that ultimately doomed the accord.
Lombard said a new partnership with Washington should also be based on reciprocal investment, the rule of law and sustainability.
President Donald Trump slapped tariffs on all imports into the U.S. earlier this month before backtracking amid financial turmoil, suspending the highest tariffs proposed for 90 days to create an opening to negotiate a trade deal. Lombard said he hoped the EU and U.S. could avert the trade war with “a win-win” solution, but also stressed the EU was working “on a targeted and measured response, in case we cannot reach a deal rapidly.”
The olive branch comes after French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this month urged European businesses to stop investing in the U.S. in response to the tariffs.
Germany’s incoming chancellor, Friedrich Merz, had previously resurrected the idea of concluding an EU-U.S. trade deal, which had also been floated by his predecessor Olaf Scholz.
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