The coming to power of Joe Bien in the United States is a "
sign of hope
" for Europeans.
This is what Franck Riester, Deputy Minister in charge of Foreign Trade and Attractiveness, said on Wednesday.
“
We will have a cordial relationship.
There are signs of hope even if we should not be naive,
”he said at the microphone of Radio Classique.
Read also: With Biden, change of tactics but no trade policy
“
Joe Biden wants to return to the Paris Agreement, to return to multilateral forums, so much the better.
This can go through a de-escalation, especially in
the Airbus-Boieng case
, a subject that can be resolved relatively quickly if there is good will from the Americans.
The lifting of taxes will be profitable for our businesses,
”he explained.
Another sensitive issue: that of taxes on the digital sector.
“
(The future Treasury secretary) Janet Yellen is in favor of a tax within the framework of the OECD and that is exactly what Bruno Le Maire said.
It is obviously very favorable because the Trump administration had stopped the negotiations within the OECD
”, deciphered Franck Riester.
Resetting a multilateral system
“
We want de-escalation but we also want to be respected as an economic partner.
We need to assert our power, it is the only way to have balanced relations in terms of trade,
”he warned, however.
“We
will have to build a very broad relationship with the Biden administration.
A multilateral international trade system will have to be restarted so that this trade is fairer, more sustainable, greener, for biodiversity, for human rights
”, summed up the Minister.
Read also: EU-China trade agreement: what are Beijing's commitments really worth?
Asked about the attractiveness of France, undermined according to some observers by the intervention of the government in the Carrefour-Couche-Tard file, Franck Riester affirmed that it was a question of "
assuming our sovereignty
".
According to him, “
that Carrefour, the leading private employer in France, in the key distribution sector, can remain French is not in contradiction with the idea that it is good to invest in France.
Investors must understand that we must have a real industrial strategy.
We must maintain sovereign control over a certain number of products or sectors or value chains
”.
