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US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 200% tariff on French wine and champagne after an aide for French President Emmanuel Macron said France “does not intend” to accept an invitation to join the “Board of Peace” for Gaza.
“Nobody wants him because he’s going to be out of office very soon,” Trump said after hearing from a reporter that Macron would likely not join the board.
“I’ll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes and he’ll join, but he doesn’t have to join,” he said.
Macron’s five-year presidential term is due to end in May 2027 and he cannot run again for a third term in accordance with French law.
The “Board of Peace” was an idea initially proposed by Trump last September as part of his plan to end the war in Gaza, although the initiative now seems to be aimed at mediating global conflicts more broadly.
A draft charter sent to about 60 countries by the US calls for members to contribute $1 billion in cash if they want their membership to last more than three years, according to the document seen by Reuters.
The charter suggests Trump would serve as the board’s inaugural chairman and would preside over membership decisions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to join the board, as well as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and others.
There are fears that the Board could undermine the United Nations framework and the large number of invitations that have been sent out also raises questions about the board’s mandate and decision-making processes.
The US president also published a private text message from Macron on his Truth Social platform, in which the French president invited Trump to have dinner in Paris on Thursday.
In the messages, Macron told Trump he could invite the Ukrainians, the Danes, the Syrians, and the Russians to participate on the margins of a G7 meeting on Thursday.
The French president also told Trump he did not understand what the US President was “doing on Greenland.”
Washington announced that eight European countries would face a 10% tariff on their US exports from 1 February unless they support the US’ proposal to purchase the semi-autonomous Danish territory. This rate will rise to 25% in June if no deal is reached.
Specifically, the threat targets Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland.
Standing firm in their support for Greenland’s right to self-determination and Denmark’s sovereignty, EU member states are weighing their options.
One possibility is the use of retaliatory tariffs on €93bn of US goods, a measure that was floated then abandoned last year during an earlier trade stand-off with Washington. Another proposal includes the activation of an anti-coercion tool, which enables the EU to impose punitive economic measures on a country seeking to force a policy change.
“I don’t think they’re going to push back too much,” Trump said of the European nations. “We have to have it…They can’t protect it.”
