French Minister for Industry and Energy Marc Ferracci has warned that jobs in key industrial sectors were at risk due to the new tariffs imposed by the US President Donald Trump on European goods.
“If the US administration’s tariffs are long-term, there will be an impact on employment,” he said on April 9.
“We have a number of sectors that are potentially in difficulty today. It could be cosmetics and luxury goods, aeronautics, which exports a lot, or the mechanical engineering industry,” he said.
Ferracci emphasised that the impact of the tariffs would not only affect direct exporters to the US but companies involved in broader supply chains. They included those that exported components or relied on imported parts from other affected countries.
The French cosmetics industry has braced for three potential outcomes as a trade war between the US and the EU looms.https://t.co/rvYs02pZXk
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 13, 2025
The minister also raised concerns about the risk of “delocalisation”, as some companies, he said, may consider shifting investment to the US to bypass tariffs. He urged French firms not to fall into what he called that trap.
“We must not show Trump that his strategy is working. If there is an increase in investment in the United States, of course, he will use that as an argument to go even further. That’s what we have to avoid,” Ferracci said.
He also criticised US economic policies as unpredictable, questioning the long-term stability of investing in the country.
“What will be the attitude of the Trump administration in six months or one year when new companies come to set up on its territory? It’s very difficult to know because American decisions are so fickle,” he said.
Ferracci advised French companies to “suspend new investments in the US” and called for national solidarity and patriotism in the face of the economic pressure.
His comments came just a day after the French National Council of Industry met to discuss strategies for preparing the country to operate best amid escalating trade tensions with the US.
