Donald Trump on Monday threatened to impose 200 per cent tariffs on French wine and champagne after France indicated it would decline his invitation to join a proposed “Board of Peace.”
The board was initially conceived to oversee the rebuilding of war-torn Gaza, but its charter does not appear to limit its mandate to the occupied Palestinian territory alone.
“I’ll put a 200 per cent tariff on his wines and champagnes. And he’ll join. But he doesn’t have to join,” Trump said, referring to French President Emmanuel Macron.
A source close to Macron told AFP that France “does not intend to answer favorably” to the invitation, adding that the board’s charter “goes beyond the sole framework of Gaza.”
Trump also confirmed that he had invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to join the Board of Peace, after Moscow earlier reported receiving the invitation.
“Yes, he’s been invited,” Trump told reporters in Florida.
In separate remarks, Trump said he believed European leaders would not strongly oppose his proposal to buy Greenland.
“I don’t think they’re gonna push back too much. We have to have it. They have to have this done,” he said when asked how he would respond to European leaders opposing the plan.
