Angry France slams US trade pact 'submission' as EU peers breathe sigh of relief

Reuters ^ | July 28, 202510:15 AM CDT | Philip Blenkinsop and Michel Rose

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Summary

• 15% tariff on EU goods, less than feared, but higher than hoped
• French PM savages agreement, no comment from Macron
• Deal brings relief but leaves unresolved questions
• European stocks rise

BRUSSELS, July 28 (Reuters) - France denounced the trade agreement between the European Union and the U.S. as a "submission" on Monday though other EU states largely backed a deal they acknowledged was lopsided but which averts an economically damaging trade war with Washington.

The framework deal, announced on Sunday between two economies accounting for almost a third of global trade, will see the U.S. impose a 15% import tariff on most EU goods from next month, but offers some protection for critical industries like cars and pharmaceuticals.

That is half the rate Washington had threatened, though much more than Europeans hoped for.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has sought to leverage tariff threats to reshape global trade since returning to the White House this year, feted the accord on Sunday during a trip to Scotland, calling it "the biggest deal ever made".

But France, Europe's second largest economy, poured scorn on the agreement.

"It is a dark day when an alliance of free peoples, brought together to affirm their common values and to defend their common interests, resigns itself to submission," Prime Minister Francois Bayrou wrote on X.

French President Emmanuel Macron made no public comment.

While the mood among other European governments was decidedly sombre, most agreed that the failure to strike a deal would have been disastrous.

"This agreement has succeeded in averting a trade conflict that would have hit the export-orientated German economy hard," said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who heads the 27-nation EU bloc's...

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TOPICS: European Union; Foreign Affairs; France
KEYWORDS: europeanunion; france; multiplenicks; randpaulsucks

[BenLurkin]

By “France” they mean Macron.

Not sure why the headline doesn’t say that.

[butlerweave]

If France is worried about it’s Wine Industry it shouldn’t because when the muslims takeover the wine production will be turned into Poppy production for the Opium

[econjack]

It’s really not a problem. If the French don’t like the tariff rates, don’t sell anything to US buyers.

[Texas Eagle]

Oooooh. Angry France. Macron is getting used to being bitch-slapped.

[rrrod]

Excellent!

[PGR88]

[rktman]

Well, he can stick a feather....................

[elpadre]

Since WWII Europe has been ripping off the US so badly they can’t visualize what a sense of balance looks like.

[silent majority rising]

I agree with Macron’s wife - he should be slapped.

[Gay State Conservative]

Isn’t she something like 20 years older than him?

[9YearLurker]

Because Macron and the PM slammed it?

[PGR88]

Isn’t she something like 20 years older than him?

She was 40 when her relationship with 15 year-old Emmanuel Macron stared in the high school in which she taught, and he was a student.

Everyone talks about how she might actually be a man. No one talks about how there was a clearly illegal grooming relationship going on.

[central_va]

Look up Cougar in Websters and you see a picture of Mrs Macron .

[dfwgator]

You stinky Frenchman haven’t a clue
Pew, Stinky Frenchman, Frog you!

[bobbo666]

‘Tis rude to slight the biggest froggie in the area.

[SaxxonWoods]

Heh, loving it.

[Wuli]

France has long been among the top trade protectionists in the EU. The earliest EU internal trade dispute was how much the U.K. was paying to subsidize and protect French farmers.

[SaxxonWoods]

“Look up Cougar in Websters and you see a picture of Mrs Macron .”

I don’t think she qualifies, Cougars are typically thought of as attractive. She is a “Hag” not a Cougar.

[central_va]

She looked ok at 40.