France pushes suspension of EU-US trade dispute

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Paris, France - December 11: Jean-Yves Le Drian, Foreign Minister of France, gives a press conference on December 11, 2018 in Paris, France. Maas is on a day trip to France to hold political talks with members of the government. (Photo by Inga Kjer/Photothek via Getty Images)

The EU and U.S. President-elect Joe Biden should ”find a method” to suspend a trade dispute that has been “poisoning everyone,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in an interview published today.

“The issue that has been poisoning everyone is that of the price escalation and taxes on steel, digital technology, Airbus and more, specifically our wine sector,” Le Drian told weekly newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

”If we could rapidly find a method that would allow us to solve this dispute with Europe and France, it would be a step forward,” Le Drian added. “This can take time but, meanwhile, we can always order moratoria.”

Le Drian’s comments chime with those of other EU officials, who are seeking to turn the page on four years of transatlantic tension with U.S. President Donald Trump and his “America First” strategy.

The Trump administration announced Monday it would begin collecting new duties on aircraft parts and other products from France and Germany such as wine as part of the long-standing fight over subsidies to aircraft makers Airbus and Boeing.

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