EU/US Customs Agreement: French government tries to reassure professionals in the "unclear"

French economic players are still cautious about the trade agreement concluded between the European Union and the United States, after the government attempted to reassure them on Wednesday, July 30, at Bercy, insisting that there is still room for maneuver.

"Negotiations with the United States are only just beginning, based on the agreement reached on Sunday," said Economy Minister Eric Lombard, following a meeting lasting approximately two and a half hours, which brought together representatives of government officials, employers, and economic sectors.

The minister also reiterated his "relief at having avoided a trade escalation," despite the "disappointment that we reached a 15% agreement."

Few concrete announcements emerged from this closed-door meeting, apart from the creation of a website for businesses and a commitment to forward the grievances of sectors affected by US customs surcharges to the European Commission next week.

The customs agreement provides for a generalized tax of 15% on European products arriving in the United States, with exceptions, notably for aeronautics, which will be exempt.

Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade Laurent Saint-Martin called for no "taboo" regarding the American surplus in services trade with the EU.

Understand: according to him, we must consider broadening the discussion on customs taxes to services, while American President Donald Trump justifies his trade crusade by invoking only an imbalance in trade in goods with the EU to the detriment of the United States.

"Very blurred outlines"

A meeting took place with the government and the CPME and U2P on the employers' side; France Industrie, the French Banking Federation, the Alliance du Commerce, the Federation of Commerce and Distribution (FCD) and France Assureurs, among others, on the federations' side.

Upon his arrival at Bercy, the head of Medef, Patrick Martin, expressed his "disappointment" regarding the agreement reached and indicated that he did not expect "sectoral financial support, except perhaps for wine," of which France is a major exporter, in the event of a 15% tax.

Dominique Chargé, vice-president of the second largest employers' organisation, CPME, said on RTL on Wednesday evening that he was not necessarily leaving the meeting at Bercy "more reassured", but "with some clarifications".

Not enough "fear"

President Emmanuel Macron lamented at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday that the EU had not been "feared" enough in its negotiations - led by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

He stressed that France would continue to show "demand and firmness" in the continuation of the discussions.

"We have very serious concerns. We are destroying entire sections of our economy (...) And what is the minister proposing to us? It's a website. We're lucky, we thought for a moment we had a toll-free number or a Minitel number...", Philippe Brun, Socialist MP for Eure, criticized, interviewed by BFMTV.