PARIS, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- A source close to French President Emmanuel Macron has responded to U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose a 200 percent tariff on French wines and champagnes, deeming the threat "unacceptable and ineffective," French media BFM TV said on Tuesday.
In response to a reporter's question about Macron declining to join the "Board of Peace" initiative he proposed to rebuild Gaza, Trump said: "I'll put a 200 percent tariff on his wines and champagnes, and he'll join, but he doesn't have to join."
France "does not intend to answer favorably" to the invitation to join Trump's "Board of Peace," as its charter goes beyond the sole framework of Gaza and "it raises major questions, particularly regarding respect for the principles and structure of the United Nations, which under no circumstances can be called into question," French daily Le Monde reported on Monday, citing a source close to Macron.
French Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Annie Genevard also reacted to the announcement on French public television channel TF1, saying the U.S. threat is unacceptable, stressing that it could not go unanswered, not only by France but by the entire European Union.
This threat targets a specific sector, namely viticulture, which is already facing difficulties and is a flagship of French agriculture, Genevard said.
According to BFM TV, the United States accounts for about a quarter of the value of French exports of wines and spirits, making it a strategic market for producers. Many champagne houses export more than 27 million bottles to the United States every year, and a large share of companies in the sector are heavily dependent on transatlantic trade flows. ■
