'There is an obsession by the president on trade about cars': The French ambassador to the US says the auto sector is make-or-break for a possible trade war with Europe

pulse

September 20, 2018 10:46 PM

Gerard Arnaud, French ambassador to the United States, told reporters he is concerned about the possibility of a trade war between the US and Europe over the auto sector.

During his state visit in April, French President Emmanuel Macron "basically told President Trump, 'we are facing a common problem with China, you’re right to raise the issue,'" Araud told reporters during a briefing at his official residence in Washington.

"It’s true that trade with China is not always fair, especially because of issues around intellectual property, but also the problem of access to markets and public procurement. So the idea was, Macron told Trump, you know, we should work together.

"The reaction of Trump was 'No way, the European Union is worse than China'" on trade.

"This report is a protection maybe against protectionism,” said Renaud Lassus, the ambassador’s chief economic adviser. "This is a demonstration that, state by state, you see the connection between both sides of the Atlantic. And this is a demonstration that if tariffs or sanctions were to be applied on French companies this would be detrimental to a lot of US communities."

The report finds that in 2017, “France was the largest source of job creation through foreign direct investment in the United States,” making French firms the third largest foreign employers in the country.

Still, ultimately, it's Trump himself who needs to be convinced. And that seems like a tall order.

"There is an obsession by the president on trade about cars," Araud said. "Every time he's talking about trade with the Europeans, he's talking about BMW or Mercedes."

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