Recent US decisions on tariffs are hitting France's overseas territories unbalanced. While mainland France and the rest of the European Union are experiencing a 20% increase, several overseas territories are seeing their products taxed at a rate of 10%, without any clear explanation. But the initial announcements, deemed inconsistent and discriminatory, provoked a backlash, leading the Trump administration to backpedal.
Initially, Réunion was to face a 37% tax and Saint Pierre and Miquelon a 50% tax. This decision was vigorously denounced by the elected officials concerned: the president of the Réunion region, Huguette Bello, castigated Donald Trump's "ignorance," while the deputy of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Stéphane Lenormand, spoke of "incompetence." The Minister of Overseas Territories, Manuel Valls, spoke of a "cumulation of inconsistencies and absurdities."
Faced with the controversy, the White House has finally revised its position. In a new list published urgently, the two territories are now aligned with the other overseas departments, with a rate of 10%. Norfolk (an Australian territory) and Heard Island and McDonald Islands were also removed from the list after labeling errors were identified.
In Paris, Emmanuel Macron brought together the relevant sectors. Beyond the overseas situation, it is the very logic of these trade sanctions that is being questioned.
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