Emmanuel Macron throws down gauntlet to Donald Trump with devastating threat to US digital firms

Macron also proposed freezing French investments in the US until tariff policies stabilize.

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Macron called the tariffs’ "massive" economic threat.

Paris, France: French President Emmanuel Macron is courting the wrath of Washington as he delivered the most substantial threat to the US in the aftermath of President Donald Trump's global reciprocal tariffs. Macron struck a beligerent tone at a meeting with business leaders on Thursday, condemning the Trump administration’s new tariffs as "brutal and unfounded" and signaling potential retaliatory measures — including targeting US tech giants with a digital tax.

The emergency summit, attended by Prime Minister François Bayrou and key ministers, brought together aerospace, agriculture, wine, and manufacturing executives to strategize against what Macron called the tariffs’ "massive" economic threat.

U.S. President Donald Trump (L) greets French President Emmanuel Macron as he arrives at the White House for a meeting on February 24, 2025 in Washington, DC. Macron is meeting with Trump in Washington on the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine.

"We must respond proportionately but firmly," Macron declared, echoing EU leaders in stating "nothing is ruled out". He specifically highlighted Europe’s leverage over US digital firms that "benefit enormously" from European markets, reviving a long-debated digital services tax opposed by Ireland, home to many tech HQs.

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Macron also proposed freezing French investments in the US until tariff policies stabilize, urging EU unity to avoid fragmented national responses. "We won’t let our sectors become collateral damage," he insisted.

Macron's tone was an outlier when compared with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s pledge to resist "zero-sum thinking" and uphold multilateralism.