Emmanuel Macron warns against ‘new imperialism’ in stinging rebuke of Donald Trump
Updated ,first published
London: Following the deepening debate on the transatlantic alliance, French President Emmanuel Macron issued a harsh response to US President Donald Trump, warning against “new imperialism” and declaring that Europe will not bow to tyrants.
Macron said the European Union “should not hesitate” to impose sweeping trade sanctions against the United States in the dispute over Greenland, while other leaders condemned Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on eight countries that do not recognize his claim to the Arctic territory.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who joined European leaders against Trump on the issue, warned that the “rules-based order” was over and called for middle powers to negotiate together to resist pressure from great powers.
The comments at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland came as Trump was on his way to a meeting in the resort town of Davos to give a speech on Wednesday, hours after he announced on social media that he would not back down on his plan to annex Greenland to the United States.
There is an escalating trade conflict. Europe is preparing to retaliate against US tariffs and the NATO alliance is being reshaped as Trump uses economic threats against allies such as Britain, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark, a kingdom that includes Greenland.
“Now is not the time for new imperialism or neo-colonialism,” Macron said in his speech to the forum.
The French president, who wears aviator sunglasses due to his eye condition, listed the world’s three priorities as growth, peace and response to climate change, and said the world should not waste time on “crazy” ideas.
“This is a time of collaboration to solve these three global challenges for our citizens,” he said.
“We choose respect for tyrants. And we choose the rule of law over brutality.”
Macron did not name Trump in his speech, but his remarks left no doubt that he wants other members of the European Union to agree on tough sanctions against the United States if the White House continues to impose tariffs.
European leaders are expected to talk to Trump at the Davos meeting, but they also plan to hold a meeting in Brussels on Thursday to discuss a joint response to the threat of US tariffs on all exports of 10 percent from February 1, rising to 25 percent from June 1.
Macron has supported the use of a powerful mechanism within the EU known as the “anti-repression instrument” because it allows the use of tariffs, investment controls and other policy decisions against a country that threatens pressure against the EU.
This could lead to tariffs worth €93 billion ($162 billion) on US exports to Europe, although the extent depends on negotiation. In the media, the mechanism was called “trading bazooka”.
Macron spoke hours after Trump revealed a private text message from the French president.
“I don’t understand what you are doing in Greenland,” Macron said in the message published on Trump’s Truth Social site.
Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom, one of Trump’s strongest American critics, expressed disappointment that European leaders were negotiating with the US president rather than challenging him.
“It’s time to get serious and stop being complicit,” he told reporters. “Now is the time to stand tall and strong, to have a backbone.”
But most European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, rejected Trump’s demands in their speeches at the forum.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever took a similar stance to Macron, as a sign of support for the use of “bazooka” in trade within the EU.
De Wever told the forum: “It’s one thing to be a happy slave, it’s another thing to be a miserable slave.” He compared Trump to the “very hungry caterpillar” in Eric Carle’s children’s book because his stomach hurt after eating too much.
Trump stuck to his plans on social media in a post last year about his agreements with NATO, which included commitments from European members to increase defense spending.
“No person or President has done more for NATO than President Donald J. Trump,” he shared.
“If I hadn’t come, there wouldn’t be NATO right now!!!”
But Carney argued at length that nations should work together to resist pressure from major powers, though he did not name the United States or China.
“We know that the old order will not return. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy, but we believe that we can build something bigger, better, stronger, fairer before it breaks,” he said.
“The middle powers need to act together because if we are not at the table, we will be on the menu.
“The big powers can afford to go it alone for now. They have the market size, the military capacity and the power to dictate the terms. The smaller powers do not have such power.”
“But when we negotiate with a hegemon only bilaterally, we negotiate from weakness. We accept what is offered, competing with each other to be the most accommodating.
“This is not sovereignty. This is the exercise of sovereignty while accepting subordination in a world of competing great powers.”
The answer, Carney said, is for like-minded nations to work together rather than be divided by the biggest powers.
Macron also made his speech to encourage wealthy global investors, Davos’ main audience, to back Europe because of the unpredictability of the others, though he did not name the United States.
“We have a place where the rule of law and predictability are still the rule of the game. And my guess is that they are massively underpriced by the market,” he said.
with wires
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