"Submission," "Relief": French industries divided after the tariff agreement

Europeans and Americans have reached an agreement on customs duties . Well, almost. While the text still needs to be ratified by the 27, many voices are already denouncing an unequal agreement that only benefits Donald Trump, introducing a 15% tax on European products exported to the United States.

"It's a form of submission," Teoman Bakoglu, deputy director general of the Federation of Electrical, Electronic and Communication Industries (FIEEC), which represents 9% of French exports to the United States, said on RMC this Tuesday.

"This will impact our competitiveness and have an impact on the cost of our products," he adds.

The sector risks finding itself in competition with industries in other countries. Starting with the United Kingdom, which alone obtained 10% additional customs duties, less than the European Union: "There is an immediate effect," warns Teoman Bakoglu.

But tariffs are only part of the deal. The United States has secured $750 billion worth of U.S. hydrocarbons from the European Union, including natural gas, oil, and shale gas . This is a way to partially break away from its dependence on Russian gas .

"To heat their homes, the French pay €1 billion a year for Russian gas and €800 million for American shale gas," explains the deputy director general of Fieec. "That's why the issue of electrification is part of France's energy independence strategy. We need to accelerate it with MaPrimeRenov in housing and a reform of the DPE ( Energy Performance Certificate) that should favor electricity over gas."

Because today, electricity, with the taxes that weigh on it, is penalized compared to gas: "We need to rebalance electricity in relation to gas. Decarbonization is an environmental issue but also one of strategic and energy independence," insists Teoman Bakoglu.

Another sector likely to suffer from these tariffs is dairy products: "We have a feeling of relief and bitterness," François-Xavier Huard, CEO of the National Federation of the Dairy Industry (FNIL), told RMC Story . "This agreement was necessary to avoid the risk of a trade war, which is receding as Donald Trump began to talk about totally exorbitant rates like 30 or 50%," he continued.

"At 15%, we're above what we're currently paying, we're paying about 10%. It's a few dollars more, but our products, unlike luxury products, are very elastic on price," explains François-Xavier Huard.

"But we have a feeling of bitterness, the agreement is not balanced, not reciprocal. And since the beginning of the year, the dollar has gained 13% against the euro. If you add that to the 15%, we are approaching the original 30%," warns the CEO of FNIL.

This isn't the first time the sector has been targeted by increased tariffs. In 2019, during Donald Trump's first term, these rates were already raised to around 35%, resulting in a loss of tens of millions of euros in exports in two years, before Joe Biden took office.

To avoid losses, producers could cut back on their margins: "Our goal is to stay on the shelves so that American consumers buy French cheese and don't turn to New Zealand cheese," explains François-Xavier Huard.

The sector could also turn to other markets such as Latin America, the Middle East or Southeast Asia: "We could accelerate free trade agreements with these areas," says the CEO of FNIL.

French industries that export to the United States and could suffer from these customs duties are expected to meet with the Minister of the Economy at the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday. And they still hope to be able to negotiate on certain levers: "All is not decided," believes Teoman Bakolgu.

"In detail, there are thousands of product references. There is the time for media and political communication and there will be that of work and specific agreements," he hopes.

"It's an unbalanced and unsatisfactory agreement," Clara Chappaz, Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs, agreed on RMC. "We finished the first half not entirely happy, but it's not the end of the game; we're going back out on the pitch to improve it," she continued.

"(We must) continue the report and force it to improve this agreement," she notes.

"I refuse to accept fate. We remain determined and committed, and Europe must stand by its businesses. We will support them and come back stronger," promises Clara Chappaz.