Macron: US, EU Wasting Time on Tariffs 05/06 06:24

   

   BRUSSELS (AP) -- Europe and the United States have more important things to 
do than waste time on tariff threats, French President Emmanuel Macron said 
Tuesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced higher duties on European 
vehicles.

   Trump said on Friday that he would increase the tariffs charged on cars and 
trucks from the European Union this week to 25%, a move that could further harm 
the global economy as it reels from war in the Middle East.

   "Especially in the geopolitical period we are experiencing, allies like the 
United States of America and the European Union have much better things to do 
than to stir up threats of destabilization," Macron told reporters in Armenia.

   "For our businesses, our households, our populations, we should rather send 
a message of stability and confidence," Macron said. He added that he hoped 
"reason will prevail soon."

   EU and U.S. trade officials were due to meet in Paris on Tuesday to discuss 
the issue.

   Trump accused the EU of "not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal," 
without elaborating.

   The threat of tariffs comes as Trump fumes over remarks by German Chancellor 
Friedrich Merz, who said the U.S. has been humiliated by Iran in talks to end 
the war. Germany is a major automobile manufacturer, and higher tariffs would 
damage its industry.

   Trump has since threatened to pull thousands of U.S. troops out of Germany.

   Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to a 
trade deal in July 2025 that set a tariff ceiling of 15% on most goods, though 
the U.S. Supreme Court this year ruled against the legal authority that Trump 
had used to charge that tax.

   Asked at the EU-Armenia summit in Yerevan on Tuesday about the threat of 
another tariff hike, von der Leyen said: "A deal is a deal, and we have a deal. 
And the essence of this deal is prosperity, common rules and reliability."

   The commission, the EU's executive branch, negotiates trade on behalf of the 
27 member countries. Von der Leyen said that "we are prepared for every 
scenario" if things go wrong.

   Macron insisted that agreements must be respected. "If they were challenged 
again, it would reopen everything," he said, and warned that "the European 
Union has instruments that would then need to be activated."