DAVOS, Jan 20 (KUNA) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday called for strengthening "European trade defense instruments" and using mechanisms such as the "anti-coercion instrument" in case President Donald Trump maintains higher tariffs.
This came during his opening address at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in (Davos) where he criticized "competition coming from the United States through trade agreements that undermine European export interests and demand major concessions".
He said that the adoption of a "North American preference" in markets has begun to take shape, stressing the need for Europe to work together to entrench the principle of "European preference" through cooperation across different sectors.
He warned against "trade wars and escalation" which harm the global economy and deepen divisions, stressing that Europe must use the strong trade tools it possesses when its rights are not respected in the face of a trade policy that "demands maximum concessions and explicitly aims to weaken and subordinate Europe." The French president said, "We prefer respect to bullying behavior. We do prefer the rule of law to brutality." adding that France and Europe remain committed to national sovereignty and independence, as well as to the United Nations and its Charter.
He noted that his American counterpart is seeking to establish a new global "Peace Council" that would be fully under US control.
Macron also warned of a sharp global democratic backsliding and a rise in violence, emphasizing that the world is moving toward a "rules-free order" in which international law is violated and only "the law of the strongest prevails".
He confirmed his intention to revive the G7 which France chairs this year so that it becomes "a forum for frank dialogue" and a space for finding collective solutions.
He explained that European competitiveness still lags behind that of the United States and faces the Chinese approach, stressing the need to protect the European market, adding that "protecting the European market does not mean closing it off".
He explained that European markets are open to everyone without sufficient scrutiny while no one can access the Chinese market in the same way others access the European one.
The French president's speech comes after threats by the US president to impose new tariffs on eight European countries until an agreement is reached on the full and complete sale of Greenland, in addition to his recent threat to impose additional tariffs on certain French products if Macron refuses to join the announced "Peace Council." (pickup previous) imk.mt