Trade war: Employers fear for the European economy, meeting at the Elysée Palace

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing tariffs of at least 10% on all imports into the United States and 20% on products arriving from the EU.

In a statement sent to AFP, Medef president Patrick Martin denounced the measures as "extremely serious for the European economy and probably for the American economy itself."

"The priority remains firm negotiations, but France and Europe must also implement support measures for the affected sectors," added Mr. Martin. "This is what I will remind the President of the Republic this afternoon."

Emmanuel Macron will welcome representatives of export industries and employers at the Élysée Palace at 16:00 p.m. Prime Minister François Bayrou and several ministers (economy, agriculture, industry, foreign trade) will also be present.

According to the guest list obtained by AFP, representatives from the aeronautics (including Guillaume Faury of Airbus), industrial, agricultural and wine sectors are expected.

The automotive sector, which will be affected by a specific 25% surcharge on imported cars, was to be represented by Luc Chatel, president of the Automotive Platform (PFA).

Representatives from the chemical, electronics, metallurgy, health and cosmetics industries were also expected to be present.

For Emmanuel Guichard of the Federation of Beauty Companies (FEBEA), "there will inevitably be an impact on the cosmetics industry of going from 0% to 20% customs duties. It will be absorbed either by inflation or by the decline in volumes sold to the United States, our largest export market," he told AFP.

"The first thing is for us to take stock and forecast the attacks and their effects on all sectors. Then, we will look at how we can support our production industries," French government spokeswoman Sophie Primas said Thursday on RTL.

"We can clearly see that all export markets, particularly for wines and spirits, are closing. We will therefore have to support our European production," she added.

"Shock"

For his part, François Bayrou considered this decision to be an "immense difficulty" for Europe and a "catastrophe" for the United States.

On the left, Socialist Olivier Faure also called on the EU to retaliate. "Since January 20, Trump has been on a roll. Let's speak to him in the only language he knows, that of the balance of power," he responded on X.

On the Paris Stock Exchange, the CAC 40 took a hit, falling by more than 3% around 15:00 p.m.

According to French customs, the United States was France's fourth largest export market in 2023, behind Germany, Italy, and Belgium.

Among the most exposed sectors are aeronautics (with 9 billion euros in 2024, it represents a fifth of France's exports to the United States), luxury goods (perfumes, leather goods, etc.), wines and cognac.

"Huge impact"

"We are assessing the potential impacts," an Airbus spokesperson told AFP on Thursday.

"We sell in the United States, we manufacture, we assemble, we develop in the United States, like few other companies," explained the CEO of the European aircraft manufacturer, Guillaume Faury, in February.

In terms of wines and distilled spirits, France, renowned for its Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne wines, exports them massively to the United States, which is its largest export market.

In 2024, some €2,4 billion worth of "grape wines" crossed the Atlantic to the United States, to which must be added €1,5 billion worth of "distilled alcoholic beverages," notably cognac.

The French Federation of Wine and Spirits Exporters (FEVS) fears "a decline in exports (to the United States) of around 800 million euros," with "a huge impact on employment and the sector's economy."

According to announcements made on Wednesday, Donald Trump appears to have abandoned the idea of ​​a 200% tax on European alcohol, which he had considered in mid-March.