France’s Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire, said on Friday he was open to discussing with the United States on the review of global trade rules.
Le Maire, however, gave a condition that if Washington exempt the European Union from rising of steel and aluminium tariffs.
He made this statement at a meeting of eurozone Finance Ministers in Sofia, the Bulgarian capital.
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened an increase of American duties on imports of steel and aluminium from the EU denouncing an excessive trade deficit with its European partners.
Bruno Le Maire recognised overcapacity in the two sectors was a global problem but denied the EU was responsible for it and would react to an unjustified tariff rise from Washington.
“The EU has to be ready to take all the appropriate decisions if the American administration decides to raise tariffs on the EU,’’ he told reporters.
In exchange for a permanent waiver for the EU, Le Maire said France was open to discuss the multilateral trade system with the U.S and the future of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
“We are ready to open a discussion with our American friends on the future of the WTO, on the improvement of the WTO and the whole multilateral trade system.
“But first of all we have to get rid of that question of new tariffs,’’ Le Maire said.
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