Trump threatens 200% tariffs on France, shares Macron’s private message

A diplomatic row erupted as Trump warned France of steep tariffs, shared a private Macron message and clashed over Greenland and Gaza

PGurus Newsdesk

January 20, 2026

US–France tensions flare as Trump targets French wine with 200% tariffs

Trump escalates France row with 200% tariff threat

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a steep 200 per cent tariff on French wine and champagne amid a growing diplomatic spat with Paris over its reluctance to join his proposed “Board of Peace.”

Trump’s warning followed reports that France does not intend to respond favourably to the US invitation to participate in the board, which was initially conceived to oversee the reconstruction of war-ravaged Gaza but whose charter extends beyond the Palestinian territory.

Speaking publicly, Trump said the tariff threat was aimed at pressuring French President Emmanuel Macron to fall in line.
“I’ll put a 200 per cent tariff on his wines and champagnes. And he’ll join. But he doesn’t have to join,” Trump said.

The US president later escalated the dispute by posting on Truth Social a private message he received from Macron. In the message, the French leader said the two agreed on issues related to Iran and Syria but questioned Trump’s push on Greenland, asking what the US president was “doing on Greenland.”

Macron also suggested meeting Trump and other G7 leaders on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, offering to include representatives from Ukraine, Denmark, Syria and Russia, and even invited Trump to dinner.

The sharp exchange came after France publicly mocked Washington over Trump’s Greenland ambitions. The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs posted a sarcastic message on X targeting US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s defence of Trump’s Arctic focus, comparing it to deliberately causing harm to prevent hypothetical future threats.

“If there were a fire someday, firefighters would intervene – so better burn the house now,” the post read, followed by similar analogies questioning the logic behind the Greenland push.

Bessent had earlier defended Trump’s stance, saying the US president was concerned about long-term security threats from Russia in the Arctic region and the implications for NATO.

Responding to Trump’s tariff threat, a source close to President Macron told AFP that such measures were “unacceptable” and “ineffective,” stressing that using trade penalties to influence France’s foreign policy was not an option.

“Tariff threats to influence our foreign policy are unacceptable and ineffective,” the source said.

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