Davos, Switzerland, January 20 (ANI): French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday sharply criticized the United States’ trade practices, stating that Washington’s tariff threats “openly aim to weaken and subordinate Europe” and are being used as leverage against territorial sovereignty, in a subtle reference to US President Donald Trump’s suggestion of annexing Greenland.
Speaking at the 56th Annual Summit of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Macron highlighted rising global instability and imbalances across security, defense, and economic domains. “It is clear that we are moving into a time of instability and imbalances, both from a security, defense, and economic point of view,” he said.
The French President expressed concern that without collective governance, global competition is becoming “relentless.” He singled out US trade policies for undermining European trade interests, demanding maximum concessions, and imposing new tariffs, calling such practices “fundamentally unacceptable.”
“It is clearly a concerning time because we are losing the perspective needed to fix the situation. Without collective governance, cooperation gives way to relentless competition. Competition from the USA through trade agreements undermines our trade interests, demands maximum concessions, and openly aims to weaken and subordinate Europe, combined with the endless accumulation of new tariffs that are fundamentally unacceptable—especially when used as leverage against territorial sovereignty,” Macron said.
He warned of a global shift “towards autocracy rather than democracy,” citing rising violence and the number of wars compared to 2024. “There is a shift towards autocracy rather than democracy. More violence, with more than 60 wars in 2024—an absolute record. I heard some of them were solved… Conflict has become normalized, with hybrid threats expanding into new domains such as space, information, digital cyber, trade, and more,” the French President added.
Macron further noted a “shift towards a world without rules, where international law is trampled, and where the only law that matters is that of the strongest,” adding that imperial ambitions are resurfacing. He cited the ongoing Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, now entering its fourth year, alongside conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, as evidence of a weakening of effective collective governance. “The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which will enter its fourth year next month, continues alongside ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Africa… This marks a shift towards a world without effective collective governance, where multilateralism is weakened by powers that obstruct it or turn away from it,” he said.
Macron’s remarks come amid global uncertainty over Washington’s threats to impose tariffs on France and seven other European countries unless they agree to sell Greenland. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, offered to negotiate with European nations but warned of escalating tariffs of 10 percent from February 1, 2026, and 25 percent from June 1, 2026, if a deal was not reached.
During a media gaggle, Trump also floated the proposal to impose a 200 percent tariff on French wine and champagne exported to the US after Macron reportedly refused to join the Gaza Board of Peace, an initiative aimed at promoting stability and overseeing post-conflict reconstruction in the region. “Nobody wants him because he’s going to be out of office very soon,” Trump said, adding, “I’ll put a 200 percent tariff on his wines and champagnes, and he’ll join, but he doesn’t have to join.”
Notably, Macron’s current five-year presidential term is set to conclude in May 2027, and under French law, he is ineligible to seek a third term.
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