France has officially supported the suspension of the trade agreement between the European Union and the United States, which was concluded last summer. This was announced by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, speaking at the National Assembly.
According to the head of French diplomacy, Paris is ready to continue cooperation with Washington in the field of security and peacekeeping, but ‘when the United States makes unacceptable proposals, France is ready to say “no”.’ Barrot stressed that France fully supports the European Parliament’s position on suspending the ratification and implementation of the deal.
The conflict erupted after statements by US President Donald Trump, who last week threatened to impose additional tariffs of 10% (from February 2026) and a subsequent increase to 25% (from June) on goods from eight European countries, including France, Germany and Denmark. The condition for cancelling the measures is agreement to transfer Greenland to US control.
The EU-US trade agreement reached in July 2025 provided for a significant reduction in tariffs: in particular, zero tariffs on many American goods in exchange for a 15% cap on US tariffs on European imports. The document was supposed to be ratified in the coming weeks, but now the European Parliament plans to officially announce the suspension of the process today in Strasbourg.
Against the backdrop of the crisis, EU leaders are discussing possible countermeasures, including the activation of the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) and the resumption of a previously prepared package of counter-tariffs on American goods worth up to €93 billion. An emergency summit of EU heads of state and government on the situation in Greenland is scheduled for Thursday in Brussels.
Analysts note that the suspension of the agreement has already caused turmoil in financial markets: European indices are falling, and investors fear a new wave of transatlantic trade war.
France insists that trade partnerships should be based on mutual respect, not threats and pressure.
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