Paris — French President Emmanuel Macron has told U.S. President Donald Trump that the new U.S. tariffs on European, Mexican and Canadian goods are illegal and a “mistake.”
Macron’s office said in a statement Friday that the two presidents spoke by phone after Trump’s administration announced the decision Thursday to impose 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent tariffs on aluminum.
The European Union is planning retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel and food goods in the coming weeks, once it calculates the exact cost to European Union companies of the U.S. tariffs. Macron pledged the riposte would be “firm” and “proportionate” and in line with World Trade Organization rules.
The U.S. decision came despite last-minute talks in Paris this week to try to reach a deal.