French President Emmanuel Macron said today that he would have a "respectful but firm dialogue" with US President Donald Trump after Washington threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on French wine imports to the US if Paris does not abolish the digital tax on American technology giants, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
Macron stressed in an interview with French TV station TF1 that the digital tax is a legitimate decision of European countries and cannot be dictated by the US.
„This digital tax is a decision of European countries, several countries are already implementing it. It is part of our right. "It is not the US that decides what is the right of the Europeans or the French," he said in the city of Evian, where the summit of the Group of Seven (G7) major economies is about to open.
The French president stressed that stability is needed in trade relations and that tariffs "do not benefit anyone", especially between the G7 countries.
Earlier today, Donald Trump warned that he would impose a 100 percent tariff on imports of all French wines and champagne if Paris does not eliminate the 3 percent tax on the income of technology companies, including Meta, Amazon, Apple and Alphabet. (Alphabet).
Trump said that otherwise “he will have no choice“ but to impose these tariffs on imports of French alcoholic products, AFP recalls.
Macron and Trump are expected to meet later on the sidelines of the G7 forum.
Also today, the French Federation of Wine and Spirit Exporters (FEVS) called for “responsibility“ and maintaining balanced trade relations between France and the United States. The industry body insisted on “responsible behavior“, calling for balanced and constructive trade relations between France and the United States that are in the interest of both economies.
“We hope that the talks in the coming days will help to calm things down“, the president of the industry federation, Gabriel Piccard, told AFP.
France has applied a 3 percent tax since 2019 on digital services revenues generated in France by companies with revenues of more than 25 million euros in the country and more than 750 million euros worldwide.
According to analysts, trade tensions over digital taxes remain a sensitive issue, with several countries already forced to review such policies under pressure from Washington.
Twice since the start of his second term, Donald Trump has threatened 200 percent tariffs on French imports wine, particularly in January after Paris refused to join its “Peace Council” designed to resolve international conflicts.
The United States is the largest export market for French wines and spirits, accounting for nearly a fifth of France’s total exports in the sector, according to the latest figures from French customs, cited by AFP.
Between May 2025 and April 2026, the United States imported around 2.9 billion euros worth of French drinks, including champagne, cognac, Bordeaux and Burgundy. This represents over 18 percent of France's total exports, which amounted to 15.6 billion euros over the same period, far ahead of the UK (11 percent) and Germany (6 percent).
Champagne and cognac account for over 40 percent of the value of shipments to the US market, with each of the two products accounting for around 600 million euros in exports. Red wines from Bordeaux follow with around 220 million euros and white wines from Burgundy with around 170 million euros.
However, French exports to the US fell by 21 percent in 2025, in particular due to an increase in tariffs from 10 to 15 percent.