France’s President Emmanuel Macron looks on during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 20, 2026. The World Economic Forum takes place in Davos from January 19 to January 23, 2026.
Fabrice Coffrini | Afp | Getty Images
French President Emmanuel Macron has hit out at “bullies” as he called for U.S. tariffs on European countries to be abolished.
Macron made the comments in a strongly-worded address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday, which followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to put 200% levies on French wines, as punishment for resisting U.S. attempts to annex Greenland.
Without mentioning Trump by name, Macron said: “We need more growth. We need more stability in this world, but we do prefer respect to bullies.” He added: “We do prefer rule of law to brutality.”
The French president also confirmed one possible response was using the Anti-Coercion Instrument or ACI.
The ACI could see the EU restrict U.S. suppliers’ access to the EU market, excluding them from participation in public tenders in the bloc, as well as putting export and import restrictions on goods and services and putting potential limits on foreign direct investment in the region.
He called the possibility of being forced to use ACI against the U.S. “crazy.”
“The crazy thing is that we can be put in a situation to use the anti-coercion mechanism for the very first time,” if the U.S. imposes additional tariffs on Europe, Macron said.
He called for the “dismantling” of tariffs, adding: “It doesn’t make sense to have tariffs and be divided, and even to be threatened now with additional tariffs.”
French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands at the Gaza Peace Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on Oct. 13, 2025.
Yoan Valat | Afp | Getty Images
He called Trump’s levies an “endless accumulation of new tariffs that are fundamentally unacceptable, even more so when they are used as a leverage against territorial sovereignty.”
Macron called for “more cooperation” among European nations. “Without collective governance, cooperation gives way to relentless competition,” he said.
“Competition from the United States of America, through trade agreements that undermine our export interests, demand maximum concessions and openly aim to weaken and subordinate Europe,” Macron said.
Tensions are high at Davos after Trump announced the 200% tariff on French wines, in addition to threatening to escalate tariffs imposed on eight European countries if they don’t accept his move to acquire Greenland.
Macron said France had decided to send soldiers to Greenland “without threatening anyone, but just supporting an ally in another European country, Denmark.”
Last week, France joined Operation Arctic Endurance by sending 15 soldiers to the self-governing Danish territory, joining personnel from Germany and Norway.
Trump is due to speak at Davos on Wednesday. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Tuesday that the president’s stance was showing the world that “the U.S. is back.”
— CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt and Lim Hui Jie contributed to this report.