Larry Kudlow of Fox Business Host is considering how President Donald Trump’s tariffs and trade policies can be used to cut more taxes on “Kudlow.”
French Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barott on Wednesday pleaded the US to take a “cooperative approach rather than a confrontational approach” after President Donald Trump issued an executive order that imposed mutual tariffs and a 10% minimum tariff on all imports.
Hours after Trump described it as an announcement of Wednesday’s “liberation day,” Barott said he hopes to reconsider “our American allies” are imposing tariffs.
The White House shared a chart of how mutual tariffs apply to dozens of countries. The European Union will face a 20% mutual tariff as it places a 39% tariff and other trade barriers on US goods.
Barott said the tariffs are “taxes on the middle class,” adding that gas pumps and supermarkets will raise prices for American families. He also said that imposing tariffs would lead the Commission to retaliate in some way.
What you need to know about Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs
French Europe and Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barott called for the United States to reconsider the mutual tariffs imposed and the 10% minimum tariff on all imports following the announcement of President Donald Trump’s “liberation date.” (Jean Catuffe / Getty Images / Getty Images)
“We will do so by mobilizing all the equipment available to combat enforcement measures — broadly speaking, that deterrent device. And there are currently some particularly powerful equipment that allow us to surpass the tariff levies in response to the tariffs imposed on European products,” Barott said.
He said it could potentially impose taxes on exports and imports, potentially restrict access to European procurement contracts, and limit European single market digital and financial services.
Barott said the US has “critical needs” in the European economy for multiple reasons, adding that the US Treasury Department’s $35 million is held by France.
Which countries impose the highest tariffs in the US?
President Donald Trump held the charts when he announced the “liberation day” mutual tariffs at an event at the Rose Garden, entitled “Make America Wealthy” at the White House on April 2, 2025. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
“Our single market allows our business to grow. We are particularly considering a large digital company in the US that will earn a quarter of its revenue in Europe. This is tens of billions of euros… and because savings in Europe will help us fund the US economy and the US public deficit,” he said.
Politicians concluded his statement by saying that France is America’s oldest alliance and “evidently wants to avoid all this.”
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Trump has already announced a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, with 25% tariffs on imported vehicles that are hit directly by the European Union and affect countries like Germany. The EU is threatening retaliatory tariffs of up to $28 billion.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday that imposed mutual tariffs on U.S. trading partners and a minimum of 10% tariffs on all imports. (Photo: Brandon Bell / Getty Images / Getty Images)
The US trade deficit with the European Union was $235.6 billion in 2024, which Trump described as “cruelty.”
Jennifer Griffin of Fox News and Caitlin McFall of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
