Overcapacity in the global steel and aluminum markets is not the result of excess production in France or the EU, and those countries should be permanently exempt from the US' metals tariffs, French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday.
"Overcapacity does not come from Europe or France," Macron said speaking at a joint press conference with US President Donald Trump, held Tuesday at the White House.
France and members of the European Union have been granted a temporary exemption to the US' 25% tariff on steel imports and 10% tariff on aluminum imports, which took effect March 23, however that exemption is set to expire May 1 unless a longer-term deal can be reached.
"I think it's very important to bear in mind that, between allies regarding important security issues, it's impossible to make any trade war," Macron said. He highlighted ongoing conversations between the US and allies on security issues regarding Iran and Syria.
"It's good to work together when you are allies," Macron said.
Overcapacity is a global issue and should be treated as such, according to Macron
"We have to deal with common global challenges regarding our trade," he said. "One of these global challenges is definitely overcapacity in steel and aluminum. ... We need several discussions and serious discussions, but I think our willingness is precisely to preserve this multilateral framework, and to work very closely together ... to deal with this current destabilization of trade situations."
The trade relationship between the US and France has been "very good" on its own, however this has not been true of the US' trade relationship with the EU overall, Trump said.
"Unfortunately the European Union represents, to a large extent, France, and we've had a pretty unfair situation with the European Union," Trump said.
EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said earlier this week that Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel would be pushing Trump to grant permanent tariff exemptions for EU countries during their respective visits to the White House this week. Merkel is scheduled to travel to Washington Thursday.
