At roughly the same time French President Emmanuel Macron was arriving in Washington for his three-day state visit, the White House punted on the French government's strongly worded demand for exemptions from new tariffs President Donald Trump suggested he might impose.
"We certainly can expect this to come up over the next few days," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told Newsmax on Monday afternoon. "When we have policy announcements, we will absolutely let you know."
The president's top spokeswoman was responding to remarks of French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire at the IMF/World Bank Spring meetings over the weekend. Asked whether Macron would pursue "temporary sanctions" in talks with Trump, Le Maire replied without hesitation: "There must be a full and permanent exemption to any new tariffs."
Noting both the EU and France "want to engage China" over its threats of stiff tariffs against the United States, Le Maire quickly added, before this is done, any threat of U.S. trade tariffs must be eliminated.
In his words, "We cannot live with the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads."
When Newsmax quoted Le Maire and noted his "strong language," Sanders quipped: "We can at least agree on that."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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