Macron calls tariffs imposed by powerful countries a form of 'blackmail

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that tariffs levied by powerful countries were often a form of “blackmail” rather than instruments to rebalance trade.

His comments during a speech at the International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, Spain, came with the European Union negotiating a trade deal with the United States ahead of a July 9 deadline, though he did not specifically refer to the United States or U.S. President Donald Trump.

“We need to restore freedom and equity to international trade, much more than barriers and tariffs, which are devised by the strongest, and which are often used as instruments of blackmail, not at all as instruments of rebalancing,” Macron said.

He also urged support – and a rethinking – of the World Trade Organization to bring it in line with goals to fight inequality and climate change.

“Bringing back a trade war and tariffs at this moment in the life of the planet is an aberration, especially when I see the tariffs that are being imposed on countries that are just beginning their economic takeoff,” Macron said.

Trump unveiled sweeping global tariffs in April in which he said countries would face taxes on imports into the United States ranging from 10% to 50%, though he later reversed course and mostly lowered them for 90 days.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday rejected Macron’s characterization, insisting that tariffs were an effective tool to rebuild U.S. manufacturing. She said Trump remained in discussions on trade to aid American workers.

“Europe and the rest of the world might not be used to that, but President Trump is back in town and he’s going to do what’s right for our people and our country,” she said.

The United Nations trade agency had said the tariffs could have a catastrophic impact on developing countries, with some of the world’s least developed, such as Lesotho, Cambodia, Laos, Madagascar and Myanmar, facing some of the highest levies.

Macron, a vocal critic of Washington’s tariff campaign, has also said it is an aberration to ask Europeans to spend more on defence while launching a trade war.