France supports suspension of EU-US trade deal, foreign minister states

Jan 20 (Reuters) – France supports the suspension of a trade deal between the European Union and the U.S., Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot notified the French parliament on Tuesday, as a row over the future of Greenland intensified.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened a further wave of tariffs on some European nations until he is allowed to take control of Greenland, to the dismay of European leaders.

“The threat of customs duties (is) being applyd as blackmail to obtain unjustifiable concessions,” Barrot declared, adding that the European Commission has “very powerful instruments” to respond to Trump’s threats.

The European Parliament is expected to formally suspconclude on Wednesday its work on the trade deal struck with the U.S. last summer in protest over Trump’s threats, EU lawcreaters declared.

The parliament had been due to vote on rerelocating many EU import duties on January 26-27, but Manfred Weber, head of the European People’s Party, the largest group in parliament, declared late on Saturday that approval was not possible for now.

In a post on the social media platform X, Barrot declared France wants to continue working with the U.S. on security and peace. “But when the United States creates an unacceptable proposal, it (France) is prepared to state no,” Barrot wrote.

Reporting by Louise Rasmussen, Alessandro Parodi and Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Richard Lough and Paul Simao

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