French economic experts saw that the United States of America is taking customs duties as a means of pressure; In order to impose its conditions regarding commercial relations with European Union countries and other countries of the world.
Experts said, in exclusive statements to the Qatar News Agency “Qena”, that the fees imposed by US President Donald Trump recently on his country’s imports of some products and those that were threatened to impose on European Union countries and other countries, are not a goal in itself, but rather a way to pay Commercial negotiations between the United States and those countries and the implementation of American conditions, warning that if these fees are applied, the “economic war” will begin to expand at the global level.
They added that the imposition of these fees will lead to a decrease in the volume of trade exchange between all countries, as well as a decrease in global growth, and will also lead to a high rate of interest as a result of price increase, which enhances the dollar’s position in global markets at the expense of the European Currency (euro) and other currencies The other, which means that the damage and economic losses will affect all countries and no one will surrender from them.
They emphasized that the direct economic weapon that European countries can use in the face of American customs duties is to respond similarly, and to increase customs taxes on American goods imports, as well as other indirect measures such as dispensing the import of some American goods such as oil and electronics, and compensating them with goods from other countries .
For his part, Dr. Alan Safa, a professor of economics and political geography at Nice University, President of the French Economic Society, Simafi International, said: “American customs duties will primarily affect French and European companies that are issued to the United States, and the damage will also affect people who buy these goods in the US local market ; Because they will pay a greater price for it, and therefore the consumer will pay the price of these fees, as a result of the decrease in the quantities of goods and the high prices.
And Dr. Alan Safa, in statements to the Qatar News Agency “Qena”, considered that the American customs duties are an exam for Europe to know its ability to “defend its commercial and economic rights; As no country can make the decision alone, but all European countries must make a unified decision to respond to these fees, noting that the volume of trade relations between the United States and European countries exceeds 1100 billion dollars.
He added that European countries must treat similarly, and just as the United States imposes large customs duties on goods coming from Europe, European countries are also imposing additional customs duties on American goods received to Europe so that there is a kind of balance; As such commercial practices cause economic damage to all parties.
The professor of economics and political geography at Nice University said that US President Donald Trump is not aimed at there to be a comprehensive economic war with all countries, but rather his goal is to push these countries to accept his conditions in economic relations, and what he asks is that European countries buy more goods than the United States, and works On using the issue of customs duties as a means of pressure on Europeans to pay commercial negotiations, in order to buy natural gas, weapons and other American products in larger quantities.
At the conclusion of his statements to “Qena”, Dr. Alan Safa stressed that if the customs duties and the “economic war” begin with interaction and expansion, and take a greater volume between countries at the global level, then the trade exchange between countries will decrease and the economic growth of each country will also decrease And all this will lead to a decrease in global demand in general and low global growth, and economic damage will include all countries.
The European Union and the United States are a major commercial partner in the trade exchange of commodity and services sectors, and the United States is the second largest commercial partner for the European Union, as the Union issued goods worth $ 576.3 billion to the United States in the year 2023, or approximately 20 percent of its total exports, according to For European Statistics Office.
The trade exchange between the European Union and the United States also represents about 30 percent of the global trade exchange volume of goods, and about 40 percent of global trade in services, equivalent to about half of the global GDP, and these strategic economic relations contribute to providing about 15 million jobs in the union. European and the United States.
US President Donald Trump had recently signed a decree according to which the start of the application of customs duties by 25 percent on all his country’s imports of steel and aluminum “without exceptions”, and he also pledged to impose mutual customs duties to suit the fees imposed by other countries on American goods, which sees Observers are a great escalation by the American president in his “commercial war.”
In turn, Dr. Hassan Obaid, head of the Research and Economic Development Center in Paris, Professor of Financial and Banking Sciences at the Paris School of Business University, said: “Trade exchanges between the United States and Europe in favor of Europe, and therefore if the customs duties increase the European market will be the largest affected, and there will be many Among the affected sectors, the most important of which are the auto industry and some luxury industries issued by France and Europe to the United States.
Obaid added, in exclusive statements to the Qatar News Agency “Qena”, that the direct economic weapon that Europe can use in the face of American customs duties is to respond to the same and raise customs taxes on American goods imports, as there are other indirect economic measures such as dispensing the import of some American goods such as oil and electronics, and compensate them with goods from other countries such as China and India.
He pointed out that the American customs duties, if applied to European countries, will lead to a high purchasing cost and inflation and will harm the two parties, considering that the American President’s threat to impose customs duties on Europe is to put a kind of conditions as a means and a tool to negotiate with Europe, no more, and this is what appears It is evident in the customs duties he announced on Canada, after which Canada responded to the conditions of the American President, and he in turn freeze the fees.
He stressed that the American conditions for Europe are to import more than the United States in quantity and quality, and to dispense slowly from the Chinese market, as well as increasing import from American energy products and dispensing with Russian energy sources, and therefore the US President’s threats to impose fees on Europe does not target Europe with a limit Its itself is to target China and Russia indirectly.
The head of the Research and Economic Development Center in Paris, at the conclusion of his statements to “Qena”, concluded that the direct negative effects are short -term of customs duties lies in increasing inflation, cost and low purchasing power of consumers, while they will have positive effects in the long term; These American drawings may lead to the dependence of many countries and blocs on themselves and achieve self -sufficiency.
For his part, Dr. Kamil Al -Sari, analyst and economist, said: “The goals of the American president from imposing purely economic duties, as he wants to put pressure on countries that have a trade surplus with the United States, whose trade deficit with China rises to $ 500 billion, and with the Union European to $ 300 billion, and more than $ 100 billion with Mexico and Canada.
Al -Sari added, in exclusive statements to the Qatar News Agency “Qena”, that the American president starts in his customs procedures from the principle that the United States is a victim of the flow of global goods and goods, but it does not benefit from this global commercial market, and that the American citizen pays the tax of this trade deficit, noting Until President Donald Trump will try to impose customs duties on all major countries and important global economic blocs, such as the European Union, in order to pressure them strongly and force them to accept his conditions in negotiations, which is confirmed by his decision to postpone customs duties for a month for Canada and Mexico.
He pointed out that there is great resentment in the European Union countries towards the American President’s economic policies, as Europeans threaten that they will respond strongly to the American customs duties if they were applied, and they may impose great taxes on American giant technology companies and limit their activities in Europe.
He stressed that the American customs duties will lead to a high interest rate as a result of the increase in prices, which will enhance the position of the dollar in the global markets and make it outperform the rest of the currencies, especially since the European Central Bank is in the process of reducing the interest rate, which will eventually push the euro decrease against the rise of the dollar.
At the conclusion of his statements to “Qena”, Dr. Kamil Al -Sari concluded that the American President’s insistence on the application of customs duties will result in a decrease in the volume of global trade and the international exchange market, which will create a crisis of providing raw and basic materials for global industrial companies, in particular The United States itself has companies in Europe, China, Canada, and many countries provide the American market with many electronic and industrial components, which are included in the basic materials that the American citizen consumes.