Macron threatens China with tariffs if Beijing fails to reduce trade surplus

French President Emmanuel Macron said he has threatened China with tariffs if Beijing fails to take steps to reduce its massive trade surplus with the EU, in remarks published on Sunday.

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“I told them that if they don’t react, we Europeans will be forced to take strong measures in the coming months,” Macron told business daily Les Echos after returning from a state visit to China.

Such measures could be modelled on steps taken by the United States, he said, “such as tariffs on Chinese products, for example”.

The EU's trade deficit with China—the world's second-largest economy after the United States—exceeded 300 billion euros ($350 billion) in 2024, Les Echos said.

The 27 European Union members cannot set trade policy, including tariffs, individually, instead being represented by the EU Commission.

Macron, whose country is the EU’s second-largest economy after Germany, acknowledged that it was a challenge to get consensus on the China tariff question across the bloc.

Germany, with its strong presence in China, he said, “is not yet entirely aligned with our position”.

US President Donald Trump's administration slapped tariffs of 57 percent on Chinese products this year, although this was cut to 47 percent as part of a deal between both countries reached in October. “China wants to pierce the heart of the European industrial and innovation model, which has been historically based on machine tools and the automobile,” Macron said.