Trump’s wine tariff threat over Macron peace board snub
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 200 percent tariffs on French wines and champagnes to force French President Emmanuel Macron to join the Peace Board initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts.
When asked by a reporter about Macron saying he wouldn’t join the board, Trump said: “Did he say that? Nobody wants him because he’ll be leaving office very soon.”
“I’m going to put a 200 percent tax on their wine and their champagne and she’ll participate, but she doesn’t have to participate,” Trump said.
A source close to Macron said France intends to decline the invitation to join the initiative at this stage.
When Trump announced his plan to end the war in Gaza in September, he first proposed the establishment of the Peace Board.
But an invitation sent to world leaders last week outlines a broad role in ending conflict globally.
A draft charter sent by the US administration to nearly 60 countries, including Australia, calls on members to contribute US$1 billion ($1.5 billion) in cash if they want their membership to last more than three years, according to the document seen by Reuters.
Governments reacted cautiously to Trump’s invitation, a plan that diplomats say could undermine the work of the United Nations.
Trump also said he invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to become a peace council member.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin was currently examining the details and would seek clarity on “all the nuances” in contacts with the United States.
Israel was asked to participate; Belarus, Slovenia, Thailand and the executive branch of the European Union are among the last countries to receive invitations.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI accepted a seat on Monday, becoming the first Arab leader and at least the fifth world leader to attend. Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Hungary and Argentina also signed the agreement.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is ready to participate, according to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had been invited and details were being reviewed.
European Commission spokesman Olof Gill said that commission president Ursula von der Leyen will meet with other EU leaders on the Gaza issue.
Gill did not say whether the invitation was accepted, but the commission wants to “contribute to a comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict.”
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday rejected the Peace Board as an unfair deal for Israel and called for its dissolution.
“It is time to explain to the President that his plan is bad for the State of Israel and cancel it,” Smotrich said.
“Gaza is ours, its future will affect our future more than anyone else’s. We will take responsibility for what is happening there, impose military rule and complete the mission.”
Netanyahu said later Monday that while there were differences with the United States over the composition of the advisory committee that would accompany the next phase in Gaza, it would not harm his relationship with Trump.
“There will be no Turkish soldiers and Qatari soldiers in the (Gaza) Strip,” he said.
The USA is expected to announce its official member list in the coming days, probably at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
with AP
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