Any US trade deal should be reciprocal – France

26 Jul, 2018 10:32 / Updated 6 years ago

France welcomes EU trade discussions with Washington but does not want to enter into a wide-ranging negotiation, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday. US President Donald Trump and EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker agreed on Wednesday to hold sweeping trade talks on reducing tariff, subsidy and non-tariff barriers. Paris had long called for Trump to withdraw the steel and tariffs before any trade talks could start. The Europeans and the Americans “must find something in these discussions. Any trade deal must be based on reciprocity,” Le Maire said. He added that agriculture must remain outside of any trade negotiation as Europe could not ease its food safety and environmental standards, Reuters reported. Any deal should also give Europe access to US public procurement markets, according to the minister.