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00:08Joining me now on 12 Minutes With
00:10is France's Minister
00:12for Foreign Trade, Nicolas Faurissier.
00:15Minister, really good to
00:16have you with us on Euronews. Thank you very much
00:17for inviting me. So, we're
00:19speaking today at a time when
00:21international trade is clearly becoming
00:24a major geopolitical
00:26battlefield.
00:26I'm going to start by asking you about
00:29the situation in Iran
00:30and the Strait of Hormuz.
00:32Can the EU really do
00:34anything to free up
00:36trade, reroute products,
00:38energy commodities for example,
00:40while Iran and
00:42the US continue in this standoff?
00:45We can't
00:46remain without doing nothing about
00:48this situation and I
00:50just want to mention the fact that this
00:52situation is added to
00:54to previous difficulties in the
00:56international trade, which are
00:58for example, the tariffs of
01:00Mr. Trump, which are
01:01the China
01:04overcapacities
01:06rerouted towards the European
01:08market for example, which are the
01:10consequences of the war of
01:13Russia in Ukraine.
01:14I mean, the situation is very
01:16complicated and of course we share
01:18discussions.
01:20The first, I mean, the priority being
01:22to have more secured
01:24free trade agreements,
01:26more secure
01:29procurements and
01:30procurements chain.
01:32These are the questions we have discussed,
01:35especially in the implementation
01:37of the free trade agreements
01:38that the Commission has very much
01:40accelerated these last months
01:42and is going on with Philippines
01:44for example, Thailand or the United
01:46Emirates.
01:47Okay, I need to ask you of course
01:49about the EU-US trade deal.
01:50There was an agreement on its
01:51implementation.
01:52Are you satisfied, Minister,
01:55that there are strong enough
01:56safeguards in this deal now
01:58to protect the EU from any future
02:00potential tariff threats from
02:02Mr. Trump?
02:03Well, I mean,
02:05the Americans, they were waiting
02:07that we implement the
02:09Thornbridge agreement.
02:11They were telling us,
02:12and Jameson Greer, for example,
02:13told me very, very often
02:15these last weeks, they were
02:17telling us, well, we don't
02:19understand why Europe is so
02:21long.
02:22When will you, have you implemented
02:25this and agreed on this
02:27agreement?
02:28It's done.
02:29Okay?
02:29And it will be operational,
02:32if I well understood, next
02:34July.
02:34So this means that the
02:35Americans, they have their
02:37answer.
02:38And the Thornbridge agreement
02:40has to be implemented as it was
02:43discussed and negotiated.
02:45And this means also that we
02:46will be very vigilant, of
02:47course, on the way the
02:49Commission will implement it,
02:51put it in an operational
02:53situation.
02:54But it's the same.
02:55We will be very vigilant on
02:57the Americans' implementation.
02:59For example, it was specified
03:00that we would have some more
03:02exemptions.
03:03Yes.
03:03We are waiting in France for
03:04the wine and spirits exemption.
03:06this was more or less a promise.
03:10We are waiting for that.
03:11But you mentioned the
03:12exemption on wines and spirits,
03:13which is, of course, crucial
03:14for France.
03:15There's also things like steel and
03:16aluminium, which still stand at
03:1850%, but there was a promise in
03:20that deal to cut them.
03:21There was.
03:21Are you confident there is a deal
03:23coming from the US on this?
03:24When we implement, when we get
03:28operational, what we discussed
03:30about, there are no reason not
03:33to be confident.
03:34We just have to discuss more.
03:36I mean, the discussion with the
03:38Americans has to be forwarded.
03:40This is what gives me the feeling
03:44that we could, we could, we can
03:45be optimistic, even if it takes
03:47time.
03:48You said that the Americans have
03:50been waiting, that Europe was
03:51perhaps slow.
03:52Do you not understand the delay
03:54when there have been threats to
03:56the territorial sovereignty of
03:57Europe when it comes to
03:58Greenland?
03:59When there have been these
04:01rulings from the Supreme Court
04:02that have thrown into doubt
04:03all of this.
04:04Do you understand the way the
04:05European Parliament especially
04:06has been biding its time to
04:10make sure that the US can be
04:12trusted?
04:13Do you understand that delay?
04:14I perfectly understand myself.
04:16The Americans, they have
04:17difficulties to understand.
04:19But we, and the French I am,
04:21French I perfectly understand.
04:23On the other hand, we could
04:24say that on the contrary, the
04:27Americans sometimes they are
04:28quite a little bit quick in
04:29their decisions and tariffs
04:31implementation.
04:32I see.
04:33I want to pivot to China because
04:36there is a feeling here in
04:38Brussels that there is a shift
04:40coming in the policy towards
04:42China.
04:42I think your government's
04:43published a report in February
04:44talking about the Chinese steam
04:46roller.
04:47We know about the issues with
04:49the chokehold on raw materials.
04:51We know about the
04:51overcapacities that are really
04:53cannibalizing European
04:54industry.
04:55Is it now time, Minister, for the
04:57EU to really be more assertive
05:00in its approach to China?
05:01We have to go on in discussing
05:04with China.
05:05But the Chinese have to
05:07understand that they won't
05:09win anything if they destroy
05:10the European industry and then
05:13the European market.
05:14So this means that Europe has
05:16to be clear on its analysis and
05:18on the use of means that are
05:21prepared and settled for a
05:24commercial defense to protect
05:26our industry and so on.
05:27We have not to be any longer
05:30naive.
05:31And this change of mind, this
05:33reinforcement of our protections
05:35of strategic industries, of
05:37the minimum level of input
05:40produced in Europe and so on and
05:42so on.
05:43This is going on.
05:44This is changing.
05:45It's not a matter of China or
05:47not.
05:47It's not only China.
05:48It's all the countries.
05:49And we have to have with China
05:51a discussion which is a frank
05:53one.
05:53But what about these specific
05:54ideas?
05:55For example, the idea that European
05:57companies should now have a
05:59policy where they cannot be
06:00sourcing 100% of components
06:03from a single supplier.
06:04Is this something you support?
06:06Yes, we have to.
06:08You know, France has a very
06:09strict position on this.
06:10We have to protect, as all
06:14over the world, all other
06:16countries do.
06:17All other zones do that.
06:19We are the European countries
06:22are the only one not to do that
06:24enough.
06:24So we have to strengthen this
06:26policy of protection of our
06:28strategic interests and sectors
06:31in the industry and the new
06:32technologies and certain number
06:34of procurement chains.
06:37And this means that the IAA
06:41will have to be implemented very
06:44rapidly and negotiated very
06:46rapidly because we are now
06:47discussing on the scope of which
06:50countries would be or not
06:53included with exemption in the
06:56European circle, if I may say so.
06:59Yes.
07:00And which would not be what will
07:02be the level of European input,
07:05which is an obligation when you
07:07have some public money or when,
07:10for example, cars are subsidized
07:11and so on and so on.
07:12This is the question.
07:14And this is the discussion we are
07:15having for the moment.
07:17France has a strict position, which
07:20is far more strict than the
07:22Commission's position as it was
07:25given, saying that you have 73
07:27countries with which we have
07:31agreements and we should discuss
07:33with them.
07:34And so we think it has to be very,
07:37very restrictive if we want it to
07:40be efficient to protect our
07:42industry.
07:43What does that mean for countries
07:44like the UK, Canada, who really
07:46seem to want to be part of this?
07:48I think that the countries which are
07:49very close in terms of industrial
07:51integration, we could speak for
07:53example, also of Morocco.
07:55We have to look what is efficient,
07:57what is normal and what is
08:00interesting to support our own
08:03industry.
08:04I think, you know, car industry in
08:06Morocco is very much integrated
08:09to European industry, especially
08:11France.
08:12So we have to take this into
08:14account.
08:14So you could envisage countries
08:16like Morocco within the Made in
08:17Europe scheme?
08:18Yes, but with a certain number of
08:20criteria that they would have to
08:24respect.
08:25One of the issues with China, of
08:26course, is the issues of critical
08:27raw materials.
08:28I want to briefly ask you about your
08:30trip to Greenland.
08:31I know it came around the same time
08:33as the US Special Envoy Jeff
08:35Landry's visit as well.
08:36Does it make sense for France to be
08:38striking these kind of bilateral
08:40memorandums of understanding,
08:41while the EU is also trying to do
08:43the same thing?
08:44Is this counterproductive?
08:44We are working hand in hand with the
08:47institutions of Europe.
08:48I met the Commissioner for
08:51Development when I was there.
08:53I spoke also in the name of Europe,
08:57as a member of Europe.
08:59I mean, we have a special relations
09:01as French.
09:03And nobody can say that President
09:04Macron, Jean-Noël Baron, and then me,
09:07we've been there.
09:08No other country has done that.
09:10So we are very close to the Greenlanders
09:12since one year, and the verbal
09:16aggression of the America on the idea
09:18that they could buy or they could
09:20take the Greenlanders.
09:23So we have always been in support.
09:25We are doing what we said.
09:27We are going there.
09:28We are building some win-win
09:31partnerships in all the fields,
09:32and especially mining, energy,
09:35telecommunications, and so on.
09:36But we are also doing this with Europe.
09:39And especially, it's a message I gave
09:43that we wanted that Europe to be more
09:46recognized and more involved in the
09:51future of Greenland.
09:52So there's no problem on that.
09:54Okay.
09:54Final question, Minister.
09:56On a slightly different subject,
09:58I know that your government, along
10:00with the Swedish government, has asked
10:02for a proposal now on restricting trade
10:06with the territories that Israel occupies
10:09in the West Bank, in East Jerusalem.
10:11I do understand that the Dutch government
10:14has actually just moved on this
10:16and restricted trade with higher tariffs
10:18on these products coming from settlements.
10:20Are you confident now there's going
10:22to be a proposal coming from Brussels on this?
10:24This is what we are asking.
10:26With our Swedish friend, we wrote the commission.
10:30we asked this and we insisted on the necessity
10:35to have European, common European position
10:39on this question rapidly.
10:41So to say, we cannot accept any import
10:44of products that are illegally, in fact,
10:48produced in illegally occupied territories
10:54in regard of the international law and so on.
10:57It's not an aggressive position.
10:59It's just a position which is in terms of law
11:06and the rights of the people.
11:09It's normal that we say that.
11:11We have to be coherent.
11:12Effectively, the Netherlands minister made a statement
11:16on that, plus the French and the Swedish.
11:19And other countries also said that it was necessary
11:22to have this answer of the commission,
11:24try to have a position which is balanced.
11:27Is it a restriction?
11:28Is it the fact that we are more offensive
11:32and more strict on this question with the Israeli government?
11:37Anyway, we have to have a position of Europe
11:40and the proposal of the European Commission.
11:43Has the commission been taking too long
11:45to come forward with this?
11:47They were very attentive to what we said.
11:50Okay, so you're confident there's something coming?
11:52Yes.
11:52Okay, good.
11:53Minister Farisier, thank you so much for your time.
11:55Thank you.
11:55Thank you.
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