(ABNA24.com) US President Donald Trump has vowed “substantial” retaliation against France for a tax targeting American technology companies, threatening to impose tariffs on French wine and blasting French President Emmanuel Macron’s “foolishness.”
“If anybody taxes them, it should be their home Country, the USA. We will announce a substantial reciprocal action on Macron’s foolishness shortly,” Trump tweeted on Friday.
Later in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters the tax decision by Paris was wrong and he threatened duties on French wine.
France is the world's top wine exporter in terms of revenue and the US is the world's largest consumer of wine and the largest import market.
"France put on a tax on our companies ... wrong thing to do. They should not have done that," Trump said.
The US president also said he maintains a "good relationship" with his French counterpart, saying he had just spoken with Macron on the phone.
"But they shouldn't have done this. They're used to taking advantage of the United States, but not with me as President," Trump continued.
The French parliament this month passed the "digital tax" law, which affects about 30 multinational firms from the US, China, Germany, Spain and Britain, but mainly targets American technology giants like Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon.
The French law requires taxing digital companies for income even if their headquarters are in other countries. Other European nations, including the UK and Germany, are considering similar taxes.
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