After tariffs, French business lobby says it got it wrong on Trump

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PARIS (Reuters) – The leader of the main French business federation, Patrick Martin, said on Wednesday he had got it wrong on U.S. President Donald Trump, saying French firms who applauded pro-business policies in January did not imagine he would go ahead with tariffs.

Trump stunned business leaders on both sides of the Atlantic when he unveiled a range of sweeping new tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners on what he called “Liberation Day”, causing a stock market meltdown across the globe.

Many French business leaders had initially feted Trump’s return to power, with LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, who attended his inauguration, talking about a “wind of optimism” in the U.S. and shipping giant CMA CGM announcing a massive investment there.

Asked on RTL radio if business leaders regretted their fascination or enthusiasm for Trump, Martin, the head of Medef, which represents corporate giants such as Totalenergies, LVMH and L’Oreal, said he did.

“I wouldn’t say there was fascination or enthusiasm for Trump, but yes, in a way, I take back what I said,” Martin said.

“At the time, we acknowledged how well the U.S. economy was doing and Trump’s pro-business policies. We didn’t imagine he would implement what he had promised during his campaign — tariffs that many think will be fatal for the U.S. market.”

Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries took effect on Wednesday, including massive 104% duties on Chinese goods, deepening his global trade war even as he prepared for negotiations with some nations.

French President Emmanuel Macron told business leaders last week that European companies should suspend planned investment in the United States for now, to avoid undermining European efforts to negotiate with the Trump administration.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Michel Rose; Editing by Hugh Lawson)